Losing a loyal ally and client, the Shah, he tried to regain its position in Iran, the United States, stepped up the opponents and supporters of the Soviet Union. In November 1979, students, the followers of Khomeini took "by storm the U.S. Embassy and hostage-taking of American diplomats, Iran's relationship with the U.S. are broken. These, however, does not mean changing the situation in favor of the USSR. The Iranian leadership was determined to prevent the growing influence of its northern neighbor. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 has led to a noticeable cooling of the Iranian-Soviet relations and the reason for the repeated attacks on the Soviet embassy."