U.S.-Iran rivalry

Once close allies, the U.S. and Iran have been locked in an often volatile standoff with tensions flaring repeatedly since Iran’s Islamic Revolution

Protests Dec 28, 2025-Jan 13, 2026
Nuclear sites attacked by U.S., Jun 2025
Tehran
IRAN
Natanz
Fordow
Isfahan
Caspian Sea
Persian Gulf
Zahedan
Shiraz
Mashhad
Tabriz
IRAQ
TÜRKIYE
AFGH.
PAKISTAN
KUWAIT
SAUDI ARABIA
QATARUAE
125 miles
200km

1953: CIA-backed coup ousts Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq, restoring Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (above)

1967: U.S. provides Iran with nuclear reactor and enriched uranium fuel

1968: Iran signs Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, permitting civilian nuclear programme

1979: Islamic Revolution topples Shah, installing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

1979-81: Iranian students seize U.S. embassy in Tehran, holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, shattering diplomatic relations

1980-88: Iran-Iraq War kills over one million people as U.S. backs Saddam Hussein to contain revolutionary Iran

1983: Hezbollah bombing kills 241 U.S. troops in Beirut; U.S. later declares Iran “state sponsor of terrorism”

1985: Iran-Contra scandal exposes Reagan administration’s secret arms sales to Tehran

1988: U.S.-Iran naval clashes in Persian Gulf culminate in accidental shootdown of Iranian passenger jet, killing all 290 on board

1998-2000: Brief thaw emerges as U.S. admits role in 1953 coup and eases some sanctions

1992-96: U.S. expands sweeping economic and oil sanctions on IranRegime’s crackdown kills thousands as President Trump warns of “very strong action”

2003: U.S. invasion of Iraq sparks sectarian conflict; Washington accuses Tehran of backing Shia militias attacking U.S. forces

2006: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sends unprecedented letter to White House while advancing uranium enrichment

2013: President Barack Obama, and President Hassan Rouhani (below) reach interim nuclear deal with limited sanctions relief

2016: U.S. and Iran conduct prisoner swap following nuclear deal implementation

2018: President Donald Trump withdraws from nuclear deal and reimposes sanctions2019: U.S. designates Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorist organisation

2020: U.S. kills Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Iran retaliates with missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq

2022: Mass protests erupt after death in police custody of Mahsa Amini

2023: Hamas attacks Israel; Gaza war begins as Hezbollah fires from Lebanon and Yemen’s Houthis target Red Sea shipping

2024: Israeli strike on Iranian consulate in Damascus and Beirut killing
 of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (below) trigger two direct Iranian missile attacks on Israel; U.S. assists Israeli air defences on Israel

Apr 2025: U.S. and Iran hold first nuclear talks in seven years under second Trump presidency

Jun: U.S. B-2 bombers strike Iran’s nuclear sites, joining Israel’s campaign against Islamic Republic in a 12-day war

2026: Currency collapse sparks nationwide protests, with chants questioning legitimacy of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (right)

2002: President George W. Bush (below) brands Iran part of an “axis of evil”, abruptly ending secret cooperation

Sources: Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), BBC, Reuters, ISW
Pictures: Getty Images, Newscom
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