During a live bulletin on India Today Group's flagship Hindi news channel, Aaj Tak, anchor and senior managing editor Anjana Om Kashyap on March 5 claimed she was breaking the news that "Iranian terrorists had taken 66 Americans hostage inside the US Embassy in Tehran." It soon emerged that she had misinterpreted a White House press briefing in which the 45-year-old Iran hostage crisis was referred to. After a fellow panellist pointed out the error, Kashyap acknowledged the mistake on air and apologised to viewers.
In a press briefing on March 4, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt talked about the checkered diplomatic history of Iran and the United States. Leavitt said, "Since 1979, the terrorist Iranian regime has actively and intentionally facilitated the killings of Americans. They chant 'Death to America' and fund other radical terrorists who attack our country and are seeking to destroy Western civilization itself. These terrorists seized our embassy and took 66 Americans hostage in Tehran..."
Anjana mistook this for a recent incident and presented it as current news on her live show.
Anjana informed her viewers that Iranian terrorists had taken 66 Americans hostage in Tehran, and that this would have far-reaching consequences. This was also shown written on the screen. She even claimed that the US was under immense pressure to save these 66 lives and that Iran would use this as leverage. At that moment, the screen flashed the same information as "War Breaking."
Anjana completely failed to follow Levitt's reference and claimed that the press secretary had claimed that 66 Americans had been held hostage in Tehran. At this point, journalist Pranay Upadhyay, who was present during the bulletin, interjected and saved the day for the senior anchor.
He corrected this glaring error being peddled by the channel and clarified that Karoline Leavitt was not talking about a present crisis, but was referring to the 1979 incident when the US Embassy had been attacked and 66 Americans were taken hostage. Since then, the US has not had an embassy in Tehran, he pointed out.
Upadhyay also explained that in the absence of an embassy, US ran its diplomatic missions in Tehran from the Swiss embassy. He stated that Levitt was referring to the same historical event that Donald Trump frequently invoked in his rallies: How Iran chants "Death to America" and there continues to be widespread hatred for America. The former US embassy in Tehran has been kept as a museum for all these years, he added.
Following this, Anjana Om Kashyap acknowledged her mistake and apologized to viewers, stating that the news had been misinterpreted. She clarified that Levitt was referring to an old incident. There is no such current development. She also instructed the production team to immediately remove the incorrect headline.
Iran Hostage Crisis
This incident Levitt mentioned is considered one of the darkest chapters in the history of modern diplomacy. It began on November 4, 1979, when a group of Iranian students and protesters stormed the US Embassy in Tehran. Following this incident, a total of 66 Americans, including several diplomats, were initially taken hostage. Some were later released, but 52 hostages remained in captivity for a total of 444 days. They were finally released on January 20, 1981, which coincided with the inauguration of US President Ronald Reagan.
During this crisis, six American diplomats managed to escape from the embassy. They were evacuated from Iran on January 27, 1980, through a joint covert operation, "Canadian Caper," conducted by the Canadian government and the CIA. This espionage mission was later adapted into the Hollywood film Argo. The film was awarded three Oscars.
Following this incident, formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran were permanently severed. Today, there are no direct relations between the two countries; Iranian interests in the United States are handled through the Pakistani Embassy, while American interests in Iran are represented by the Swiss Embassy.
This was not the first time Anjana Om Kashyap was caught off guard. Recently, while reporting on the war, she aired a video from Bahrain as an attack on Dubai. Similarly, during the India-Pakistan conflict, Anjana ran several unverified news stories, showing old videos as current footage. In November 2025, Anjana faced widespread trolling for falsely reporting the death of actor Dharmendra.
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