Tehran [Iran, 2004] The former US embassy in Tehran is one of the city's most bizarre sights. The embassy was stormed by students during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and its staff held hostage for more than a year - an event that still poisons US-Iran relations. The students claimed they wanted to prevent a repeat of the 1953 CIA-led coup that re-installed the Shah. These days the complex is known as the "US Den of Espionage" and is the base of a hard-line militia group. The outer walls are covered in anti-US slogans and allegorical murals such as this. Photography is forbidden, but I sneaked this shot without being spotted.