What has shaped US-Iran ties over the decades?
After decades of hostile rhetoric, proxy clashes, and diplomatic deadlocks, the relationship between the United States and Iran appears to be entering a new and uncertain chapter. This shift follows a dramatic series of events: targeted US airstrikes on Iran's nuclear development sites, Iran's limited retaliatory missile attack on a US military base in Qatar, and a ceasefire in the broader Israel-Iran conflict, brokered US President Donald Trump.
Despite Trump's claim that the US strikes 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear programme, a US intelligence report later found that while the sites sustained serious damage, they were not destroyed entirely. According to officials cited in the report, Iran retains the capacity to rebuild and continue its nuclear ambitions — a contradiction to the president's earlier statements.
During the ceasefire announcement, Trump posted on social media: 'God bless Israel. God bless Iran. God bless the Middle East, America and the world.' However, as sporadic fighting resumed in the region, Trump's tone shifted. On camera, he vented frustration with both parties: 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f— they're doing.'
He seemed more critical of Israel, reported AP. And Israel is a longtime US ally.
The US-Iran conflict has deep roots.
Much of the modern tension stems from the 1953 CIA-backed coup known as Operation Ajax. The US and Britain supported the overthrow of Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and reinstalled the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, largely to protect Western oil interests and limit Soviet influence.
The Shah's regime, though pro-Western, became increasingly autocratic and faced growing domestic opposition.
In 1979, a popular uprising led to the Islamic Revolution, overthrowing the Shah and establishing the Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. This revolution radically shifted Iran's posture toward the US, labelling it the 'Great Satan.'
Just months after the revolution, on November 4, 1979, Iranian students seized the US embassy in Tehran, taking 66 Americans hostage. More than 50 were held for 444 days.
President Jimmy Carter's failed rescue mission, Operation Eagle Claw, ended in disaster with the deaths of eight US servicemen after a helicopter collided with a transport aircraft during a sandstorm in the Iranian desert.
Iran released the hostages moments after Ronald Reagan took office in January 1981 — a calculated move seen by many as a final blow to Carter's presidency. The US broke diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980, and they have remained severed ever since.
The US has clashed with Iran directly before.
In April 1988, in retaliation for the mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, the US Navy launched Operation Praying Mantis, sinking or damaging several Iranian vessels — its largest surface naval engagement since World War II.
During the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq war, the US unofficially backed Saddam Hussein's Iraq through intelligence sharing and economic support, hoping to contain Iran's revolutionary influence.
The war ended in stalemate, with both sides suffering hundreds of thousands of casualties.
In the mid-1980s, it was revealed that senior US officials had secretly sold arms to Iran — despite it being labelled a state sponsor of terrorism. It was to facilitate the release of hostages in Lebanon and fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The resulting Iran-Contra scandal engulfed the Reagan administration, though Reagan himself avoided legal fallout.
Iran has remained on the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1984. President George W. Bush cemented the adversarial tone in 2002 by labelling Iran, along with North Korea and Iraq, as part of an 'Axis of Evil.'
In turn, Iranian leaders and allied militant groups have referred to their bloc as the 'Axis of Resistance,' opposing what they see as US imperialism and Israeli aggression.
Iran's influence spans the Middle East through support of proxy groups. These include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, Houthi rebels in Yemen, and Shia militias in Iraq. Many of these groups have suffered significant losses in recent Israeli and US strikes. Iran's support for them continues to be a key source of tension with the US and its allies.
In 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and several world powers. The deal required Iran to limit uranium enrichment and allow inspections in exchange for sanctions relief.
In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the agreement, criticising it as weak and launching a 'maximum pressure' campaign of sanctions.
Since then, Iran has restarted its nuclear programme. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium and centrifuge operations have grown significantly.
In January 2020, a US drone strike killed General Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian military leader, near Baghdad Airport. Iran vowed revenge.
In 2024, US officials revealed that Iranian operatives had plotted to assassinate Donald Trump in retaliation, as per AP.
And now, from where we stand, whether the current ceasefire signals the start of cautious diplomacy or merely a pause in hostilities… this remains uncertain.
(With inputs from AP)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
34 minutes ago
- India Today
Iran expresses complete doubt over Israel's ceasefire commitment
Iran is highly doubtful that Israel will maintain the ceasefire that ended the recent air war between the two countries, Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi told Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman on Sunday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency."Since we have complete doubts about the enemy's (Israel's) adherence to its commitments, including the ceasefire, we are prepared to give it a strong response if it repeats the aggression," Mousavi said, as quoted by added that Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran while Tehran was engaged in indirect nuclear negotiations with Washington. 'The two regimes have shown that they do not adhere to any international rules and norms. We did not initiate war, but we responded with all our power to the aggressor,' he said. The statement comes a day after hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the streets of downtown Tehran for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard and other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during the 12-day war with Israel. The caskets of Guard chief Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard's ballistic missile program Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and others were driven on trucks along the capital's Azadi Street, as people in the crowds chanted: 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel.'advertisementSalami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war, June 13, as Israel launched a military campaign it said was aimed at destroying Iran's nuclear program, specifically targeting military commanders, scientists, and nuclear the 12 days before the ceasefire was declared, Israel claimed it had killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists responded by firing more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel. Most were intercepted, but several reached their targets, causing damage and killing 28 people.- EndsWith inputs from Reuters, APTune InMust Watch
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Democrats delay Trump's $3.3 trillion bill with 16-hour Senate reading
Hours before a tumultuous nearing-midnight vote on President Donald Trump's package of tax breaks, spending cuts and increased deportation money, a Republican senator stood on the chamber floor and implored the plan's critics, "Read the bill.'After the dramatic 51-49 roll call late Saturday, Senate Democrats did exactly to stop the march toward passage of the 940-page bill by Trump's Fourth of July deadline, the minority party in Congress is using the tools at its disposal to delay and drag out the 'If Senate Republicans won't tell the American people what's in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish," said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Sunday mid-afternoon, some 16 hours later, the clerk's reading of the nearly foot-high bill was within moments, the Senate launched debate. But it's still going to be a while, at least 10 hours of speeches stretching late into the night. The slow-walking tactic points to difficult days ahead.'It's taken a while to get here,' said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the Budget Committee chairman, 'but we'll have a debate worthy of this great country.'Republicans, who have control of the House and Senate, are closer to passing Trump's signature domestic policy package, yet there is political unease. Democrats immediately launched fresh challenges against it, decrying the way they say Republicans are hiding the true costs by using unusual new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget office Sunday estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1 trillion increase over the House-passed bill. It also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, more than with the House's remain reluctant to give their votes, and their leaders have almost no room to spare, given their narrow majorities. Essentially, they can afford three dissenters in the Senate, with its 53-47 GOP edge, and about as many in the House, if all members are present and voting. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. had sent his colleagues home for the who has at times allowed wiggle room on his deadline, kept the pressure on lawmakers to finish. But the tense scene as voting came to a standstill for more than three hours let the internal discord play out in the end, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky opposed the motion to move ahead, joining all 47 Democrats. Trump threatened to campaign against Tillis, worried that Medicaid cuts would leave many without health care in his state. Trump badgered Tillis again on Sunday morning, saying the senator 'has hurt the great people of North Carolina.'advertisementLater Sunday, Tillis issued a lengthy statement announcing he would not seek reelection in are using their majorities to push aside Democratic opposition, but have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8 trillion in Trump tax pressure to oppose the bill came from Elon Musk, who criticized it as 'utterly insane and destructive.'If the Senate is able to pass the package in the days ahead, the bill would return to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House. GOP leaders will need almost every one of their members on BREAKS AND CORE GOP PRIORITIESAt its core, the legislation would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump's first term that would otherwise expire by year's end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including Trump's mass deportation the cutbacks to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments are also causing dissent within GOP ranks. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the environmental rollbacks would amount to a "death sentence' for America's wind and solar Republicans are relying on the reductions to offset the lost tax revenues but some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation's debt, are pushing for steeper a congressional process called budget reconciliation, the Republicans can muscle the bill through on a simple majority vote in the Senate, rather than the typical 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster, Democrats in the minority have to latch on to other tools to mount their is the full reading of the bill text, which has been done in past situations. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., forced a 2021 reading of a COVID relief strategies the Democrats plan to use include using their full 10 hours of available debate time expected to launch later then the Democrats are prepared to propose dozens of amendments to the package that would be considered in an all-night voting session or all-day, depending on the Saturday's vote tally teetered, attention turned to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who was surrounded by GOP leaders in intense conversation. She voted 'yes.'Several provisions in the package are designed for her state in Alaska.A short time later, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., drew holdouts Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming to his office. Vice President JD Vance joined in. The talks dragged Vance led them all back in to Scott said he had met with the president, adding, 'We all want to get to yes.'Lee said the group "had an internal discussion about the strategy to achieve more savings and more deficit reduction, and I feel good about the direction where this is going, and more to come.'- EndsMust Watch
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Iran could enrich uranium again despite strikes, says International atomic body
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has warned that Iran could begin enriching uranium again within just a few months, despite recent US-led airstrikes aimed at crippling Tehran's nuclear Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told CBS News on Sunday that while the strikes had caused significant damage to Iran's nuclear infrastructure, they had not eliminated the country's capabilities or knowledge speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there," Grossi said in the interview on Face the Nation. 'The capacities they have are there. They can have, you know, in a matter of months a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that.' The comments raise questions over the effectiveness of the US and Israeli strikes on key nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. US President Donald Trump has claimed that the attacks "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear Grossi acknowledged that Iran's ability to convert and enrich uranium had been significantly set back, he emphasized that the core problem remains: Iran's technical expertise is intact."Iran is a very sophisticated country in terms of nuclear technology," Grossi noted. "So you cannot disinvent this. You cannot undo the knowledge that you have or the capacities that you have."advertisementThe strikes followed a 12-day air war ignited by Israeli attacks on Iranian sites earlier this month. The United States joined the campaign shortly afterward, citing the need to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear however, insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes. But Western powers remain skeptical, mainly after reports emerged that Iran may have moved some of its highly enriched uranium stockpiles before the asked about those reports, Grossi said the whereabouts of the material remains unclear. "So some could have been destroyed as part of the attack, but some could have been moved," he said.- EndsWith inputs from ReutersMust Watch
