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

EXPLAINER

After President Donald Trump ordered direct strikes on Sunday that he claimed “obliterated” significant nuclear facilities in the Middle East, tensions have risen to the highest point in recent years.

Since the 1979 Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini toppled pro-Western Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran continues to be the US’s biggest adversary in the region. Since then, the two countries have fought over a variety of issues, including US political interference, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and its backing of regional proxies.

Israel, which has long viewed Iran as a threat, launched unprecedented strikes across the country last week after accusing it of developing nuclear weapons. Trump dragged the US into the conflict after Israeli strikes, but Israel’s claims have not been supported by any solid evidence.

The US directly struck Iran on Sunday, in a covert attack that the Trump administration described as being highly sophisticated and using 75 precision bombs and US aircraft. Tehran has warned it will retaliate despite the fact that Washington declared it “devastated” Iran’s nuclear sites.

A timeline of US-Iranian relations since 1953 is provided.

(1953) US-backed coup and the reinstallation of the shah: Initially, resentment erupted over Mohammad Mosaddegh’s attempts to nationalize the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP). Since oil was discovered in the early 1900s, the British colonial power has held the majority stake in the joint-venture company. The British were enraged by Mosesaddegh’s decision to nationalize the business following his election in 1951. The US’s Central Intelligence Agency helped the UK conceive a coup and bring Pahlavi, a monarch who had been ousted, to power as a shah.
• The US and other Western allies were supportive of the shah’s plans for a nuclear-armed Iran (1957). As part of the Atoms for Peace initiative spearheaded by then-US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, both nations ratified a nuclear agreement for civilian use. Iran received a nuclear reactor and uranium ten years later from the US. The current nuclear problem is based on the nuclear collaboration.
• Iranian revolution: Despite flourishing relations between Tehran and Washington, Iranians resisted the alleged overreach of Western influence on their businesses. The shah fled in January 1979 as a result of revolutionary protests that started wracking the nation in late 1978. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, an exiled scholar, resurrected as the new Islamic republic.
• US diplomatic ties cut after US decision to admit the shah for cancer treatment in 1980, Iranian students kidnapped 52 Americans for 444 days and entered the US embassy in Tehran. Washington severed diplomatic ties with Washington and imposed sanctions on the nation. In exile, the shah perished.
• US support for Iraqi invasion: In 1980, the US backed Iraqi invasion, which was under Saddam Hussein’s leadership. This caused tensions between the two countries to rise. Up until 1988, the conflict saw the deaths of countless people on both sides. Iran was also a target of chemical weapons.
• After a number of attacks in Lebanon, where the US had been drawn in after Israel’s invasion, President Ronald Reagan designated Iran as a “state sponsor of terror.” 241 US service members were killed in one attack on a Beirut military base. Hezbollah, a Shia-backed Lebanese organization, was put on trial by the US. However, Reagan later collaborated with Iran to free American hostages held by Hezbollah. Reagan was deeply scandalized when the Iran-Contra scandal became public.
• A US naval ship sped into Iran’s waters and fired at the civilian Iran Air flight (IR655) headed for Dubai on July 8th, 1988, amid rising war tensions and even direct attacks on the Gulf’s military warships. All 290 passengers died, total. Instead of formally apologizing or claiming responsibility, the US paid families $61.8 million as compensation.
• (1995) Tighter sanctions: Between 1995 and 1996, the US imposed more sanctions. Then, Congress passed a law severing sanctions on foreign companies that invest in or sell Iranian advanced weapons, as well as President Bill Clinton’s executive orders, which prohibited US companies from dealing with Iran. The US cited the development of nuclear weapons and the support of organizations like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
• In a State of the Union address following the 9/11 attacks on the US, President George W. Bush claimed that Iran was an “Axis of Evil” along with Iraq and North Korea. Iran and the US had been working together at the time to combat Taliban in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda. By the end of 2022, international observers had noted highly enriched uranium in Iran, which increased the pressure on the cooperation and sparked new sanctions.
• 2013 Iran nuclear deal: US President Barack Obama held discussions with Iran at a high level between 2013 and 2015. Tehran ratified the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a 2015 nuclear agreement that would ease sanctions against Iran. The agreement, which set Iran’s enrichment cap at 3.67 percent, included China, Russia, France, Germany, the UK, and the EU.
• (2018) Trump renounces the nuclear deal: In 2018, the US unilaterally renounced the deal and resumed sanctions against Iran. Trump and Israel had criticized the agreement. Iran also halted its commitments and began producing more enriched uranium than the agreed upon limits.
• (2020) IRGC leader assassinated in Baghdad: In a drone strike, the US killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, in the country’s capital. The administration had designated the Quds Force a “terrorist” organization a year earlier. Iraqi assets were attacked by Iran as a response.
• A letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which Trump shot off in March, urging Iran to resume negotiations over a nuclear deal with a 60-day deadline. Khamenei rejected the offer, claiming that the US is only making demands of Iran rather than pursuing negotiations with it. Muscat served as a mediator between Oman and Italy, and discussions reportedly broke out in Oman and Italy. After several rounds of negotiations, Trump alleged that his team was “very close” to a deal and warned Israel against striking. Another sticking point in the discussions was Tehran’s optimism, but he also emphasized the right to enrich uranium. A day before the sixth round of Iran-US discussions, Israel launched strikes across Iran.
• US bombings of three important nuclear facilities in Iran were cited as reasons for Israeli defense and security.