Former US Embassy Mural

Hidden behind high walls on Taleghani Street, the Former U.S. Embassy is one of Tehran’s most charged and thought-provoking places to visit. Often referred to locally as the “Den of Espionage” and also known as the 13 Aban Museum, it is not a classic beauty spot — but it is one of the most revealing windows into Iran’s modern political memory and the turning point that reshaped U.S.–Iran relations.

On 4 November 1979, the U.S. Embassy compound in Tehran was seized by Iranian students, triggering the Iran hostage crisis. More than 50 Americans were held for 444 days, and the event became a defining rupture in U.S.–Iran relations. In the decades since, parts of the former embassy have been repurposed into a museum and exhibition space, often referred to as the 13 Aban Museum.

This site is unique because it functions as a place of narrative and atmosphere rather than a conventional museum. Inside the compound, exhibition rooms and preserved spaces help visitors understand how a single location became the stage for a world-historical event. Outside, the walls and surrounding area are covered with large-scale political murals that have become part of Tehran’s visual identity.

Even for visitors who do not enter, the perimeter is a powerful experience. For those who do, walking through the compound offers a direct encounter with recent history — not distant or abstract, but grounded in physical space.