 Aboutalebi denied participation in the takeover of the US embassy, emphasising that he was brought in to translate and negotiate following the occupation.Aboutalebi was a student and member of the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, comprising students from several major science and technology universities of Tehran, which occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran.Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, a leading member of the core group who organized and led the embassy takeover, told BBC Persian that Aboutalebi's involvement was peripheral.