History of US-Iran relations: From the 1953 regime change to Trump strikes

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EXPLAINER

Iran remains the US’s adversary successful the Middle East since the 1979 Islamic gyration led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Published On 23 Jun 2025

United States-Iran tensions person surged to the highest constituent successful decades aft President Donald Trump connected Sunday ordered nonstop strikes that helium said “obliterated” cardinal atomic facilities crossed the Middle Eastern country.

Iran remains the biggest adversary of the US successful the portion since the 1979 Islamic gyration led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini toppled pro-Western Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Since then, the 2 nations person sparred implicit a multitude of issues, including Iran’s atomic ambitions, Iran’s backing of proxies successful the region, and US governmental interference.

Israel, which has agelong considered Iran a threat, launched unprecedented strikes crossed Iran past week aft accusing the state of processing atomic weapons. Israeli claims person not been backed by immoderate credible proof, but Trump dragged the US into the warfare pursuing the Israeli strikes.

On Sunday, the US straight deed Iran successful what the Trump medication called a highly blase covert onslaught that progressive much than 125 US craft and 75 precision bombs. Washington said it “devastated” Iran’s atomic sites, but Tehran has warned it volition retaliate.

Here’s a timeline of US-Iran relations since 1953:

(1953) US-backed coup and reinstallation of the shah: Tensions initially began brewing implicit the democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh’s efforts to nationalise the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP). The British assemblage powerfulness controlled the bulk involvement successful the joint-venture institution since lipid was discovered successful the aboriginal 1900s. Mosaddegh’s moves to nationalise the institution aft his 1951 predetermination angered the British. The US’s Central Intelligence Agency supported the United Kingdom successful engineering a coup and backing once-deposed monarch, Pahlavi, backmost into powerfulness arsenic shah.
(1957) Atoms for Peace: The shah’s ambitions for a nuclear-powered Iran gained enactment from the US and different Western allies. Both countries signed a atomic statement for the civilian usage of atomic powerfulness arsenic portion of then-US President Dwight D Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace programme. A decennary later, the US provided Iran with a atomic reactor and uranium to substance it. The atomic collaboration forms the ground for the existent atomic question.
(1979) Islamic revolution: While relations betwixt Tehran and Washington flourished, Iranians groaned nether the dictatorship of the shah and resisted the perceived overreach of Western power connected their business. Revolutionary protests began rocking the state successful precocious 1978 and forced the shah to fly successful January 1979. Exiled Islamic student Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to regularisation the caller Islamic republic.
(1980) US cuts diplomatic ties: Following the US’s determination to admit the shah for crab attraction aft his exile, Iranian students broke into the US embassy successful Tehran and kidnapped 52 Americans for 444 days. Washington chopped disconnected diplomatic ties and imposed sanctions connected the country. The shah died successful exile.
(1980-88) US backs Iraqi invasion: Following Iraq’s penetration of Iran nether Saddam Hussein, who was anxious to propulsion backmost against Khomeini’s ideology, the US sided with Iraq, deepening tensions betwixt the 2 nations. The warfare lasted till 1988 and saw thousands dice connected some sides. Iraq besides utilized chemic weapons connected Iran.
(1984) Sponsor of panic designation: President Ronald Reagan officially designated Iran arsenic a “state sponsor of terror” aft a bid of attacks successful Lebanon, wherever the US had been drawn successful aft Israel invaded the country. In 1 onslaught connected a subject basal successful Beirut, 241 US work members were killed. The US blamed Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia question backed by Iran. Later, though, Reagan worked with Iran down the scenes to escaped American hostages held by Hezbollah. When it came to light, the Iran-Contra affair, arsenic it was termed, was a immense ungraded for Reagan.
(1988) Iran Air formation changeable down: Amid warfare tensions and adjacent nonstop attacks connected each other’s subject warships successful the Gulf, a US naval vessel breached Iranian waters and fired astatine the civilian Iran Air formation (IR655) headed to Dubai connected July 8. All 290 radical connected committee were killed. The US, which claimed it was a mistake, did not formally apologise oregon assertion work but paid families $61.8m arsenic compensation.
(1995) Tighter sanctions: Between 1995 and 1996, the US imposed much sanctions. Then, President Bill Clinton’s enforcement orders banned US companies from dealing with Iran, portion Congress passed a instrumentality penalising overseas entities investing successful the country’s vigor assemblage oregon selling Iran precocious weapons. The US cited atomic advancement and enactment of groups similar Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
(2002) 9/11 aftermath: Following the 9/11 attacks connected the US, President George W Bush, successful a State of the Union address, said Iran was portion of an “Axis of Evil” alongside Iraq and North Korea. At the time, Iran had been parlaying with the US down the scenes to people their communal foes – the Taliban successful Afghanistan and al-Qaeda. The practice was soured, and by the extremity of 2022, planetary observers noted highly enriched uranium successful Iran, inviting much sanctions.
(2013) Iran atomic deal: Between 2013 and 2015, US President Barack Obama began high-level talks with Iran. In 2015, Tehran agreed to the atomic deal, formally known arsenic the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that would bounds Iran’s atomic activities successful speech for an easing of sanctions. China, Russia, France, Germany, the UK and the European Union were besides enactment to the woody that capped Iran’s enrichment astatine 3.67 percent.
(2018) Trump withdraws from the atomic deal: Under Trump’s archetypal term, the US unilaterally withdrew from the woody successful 2018 and slapped backmost sanctions against Iran. Trump and Israel had been captious of the deal. Iran besides called disconnected its commitments and began producing enriched uranium beyond the limits the woody had imposed.
(2020) IRGC person assassinated: During Trump’s archetypal term, the US killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the caput of the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), successful Baghdad successful a drone strike. A twelvemonth earlier, the medication had named the Quds Force a “terrorist” organisation. Iran responded with strikes connected US assets successful Iraq.
(2025) Letter to Tehran: In March, Trump changeable disconnected a missive to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing caller negotiations connected a atomic woody with a deadline of 60 days. But Khamenei rejected the offer, saying the US is not seeking negotiations with Iran but alternatively imposing demands connected it. Talks started unofficially successful Oman and Italy, with Muscat acting arsenic the mediator. Trump claimed his squad was “very close” to a woody aft respective rounds of talks and warned Israel against strikes. Tehran, too, expressed optimism but insisted connected the close to enrich uranium – a sticking constituent successful the talks. Israel launched strikes crossed Iran a time earlier the sixth circular of the Iran-US talks.
(2025) US strikes: The US bombed 3 cardinal atomic facilities successful Iran, citing information concerns and the defence of Israel.