Israel-Iran relations have not always been hostile. From 1925 to 1979, during the Pahlavi dynasty, the two states had friendly relations, with Iran being the second Muslim state to recognize Israel after its establishment in 1948.
The Middle East has once again become a “hotbed of conflict,” with Israel’s war with Iran spiraling out of control, with the two sides openly clashing – with unpredictable consequences for the wider region and the global economy. Over the past year, Iran has been one of Israel’s harshest critics of its bombing of Gaza. The Palestinian issue is at the heart of the confrontation between the two countries, with Tehran warning Israel and the US from the outset of military operations in Gaza and the surrounding areas – Lebanon and Syria. Israel-Iran relations have not always been hostile. From 1925 to 1979, during the Pahlavi dynasty, the two states enjoyed friendly relations, with Iran being the second Muslim state to recognize Israel after its establishment in 1948.
In fact, Iran was one of 11 member states of a special United Nations commission created in 1947 to seek a solution for Palestine after the British relinquished control of the region. It was one of the countries that voted against the United Nations partition plan for Palestine, expressing concern about an outbreak of violence in the region.
Iran, India, and Yugoslavia presented an alternative plan, a federal solution, that would allow Palestine to be a state with one government, but divided into Arab and Jewish communities. Tehran and Tel Aviv had extensive military cooperation at the time and exchanged security information, which they did not publish so as not to provoke Arab states. Things began to change when Mohammad Mossadegh became prime minister of Iran in 1951, wanting to nationalize the country’s oil industry, and severed ties with Israel, believing that this served Western interests.
HISTORY FROM 1967 TO THE PRESENT DAY
Tensions and clashes were frequent in the following decades, with Israel and Iran exchanging fire, mostly in secret.
The year is 1967. In the early days of the conflict, Iran took control of the Tehran Research Reactor, which was developed as part of the American Atoms for Peace program.
- Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran fell seriously ill and then fled the country when the people protested against him. He maintained economic ties and security cooperation with Iran.
- Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, the former supreme leader of Iran, returned to Tehran, with the Islamic Revolution giving him power in the country.
Students take control of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, holding it hostage for 444 days. Iran’s nuclear program slows under international pressure. A new regime takes power and labels Israel its greatest enemy.
2002, August: Western security services and an Iranian opposition political group discover secret uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz.
2003, June: Britain, France and Germany sit down with Iran to discuss its nuclear program.
2003, October: After lengthy negotiations, Iran freezes uranium enrichment.
February 2006: Three years after the uranium enrichment program was suspended, Iran’s newly elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced that work would resume. Britain, France and Germany refuse to continue negotiations.
2009, June: Despite allegations of fraud, Ahmadinejad is re-elected president of Iran, leading to widespread protests known as the “Green Movement” and a violent government crackdown.
2009, October: With Barack Obama as president, the US and Iran open a secret communication channel to exchange messages in the Sultanate of Oman. In 2010, Iran’s nuclear program becomes a major target and it is revealed that the Stuxnet computer virus, a joint creation of the US and Israel, has destroyed Iranian centrifuges.
2015, July 14: Iran and international powers announce a long-term nuclear deal, which limited Tehran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for the partial lifting of economic sanctions.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has tens of thousands of pages of data proving Iran hid its nuclear program before signing the deal with major Western powers in 2015. A former Mossad chief confirms the information was stolen from vaults in Tehran by non-Israeli agents. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.
- Israel has reportedly stepped up its attacks on Iran’s nuclear program following the collapse of the 2015 deal, which was intended to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
July 2020: A mysterious explosion destroys a centrifuge manufacturing plant at the Natanz nuclear facility. Iran blames Israel for the explosion.
November 2020: A top Iranian military nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is killed with a remote-controlled weapon while in a car outside Tehran. A senior security official accused Israel of using electronic devices to remotely assassinate the scientist, who is considered the “father” of Iran’s military nuclear program in 2000.
2021, April 11: An attack targets the underground nuclear facilities at Natanz, with Tehran again pointing the finger at Israel. Tel Aviv did not claim responsibility for the attack, but Israeli media reported that the country’s government was the one who orchestrated the cyberattack that caused a power outage at the facilities.
2021, April 16: Iran begins enriching uranium to 60%, the highest level to date and a “step” ahead of the 90% required to build nuclear weapons. June
2022, June: Iran accuses Israel of poisoning two nuclear scientists from different cities over a three-day period. The circumstances of their deaths remain unclear to this day.
2023, October 7: Hamas fighters from the Gaza Strip invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 prisoners. Israel responded immediately, with Israeli military operations in Gaza continuing to this day. Israel, which has armed and financed Hamas for decades, provides support to its fighters.
2024, February 14: Israeli sabotage causes a series of explosions in an Iranian natural gas pipeline, connecting the western provinces of Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari with cities on the Caspian Sea.
2024, April 1: An Israeli airstrike destroys the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing 16 people. Two Iranian generals were among the victims.
2024, April 14: Iran launches an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel. In response to the attack on Damascus, Tehran launches 300 missiles and dozens of drones towards Israel. However, Israel, with the help of the US and other allies, manages to take most of the fire.
2024, April 19: Iran accuses Israel of hitting an air defense system near Isfahan airport.
2024, July 31: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is killed in an airstrike during a visit to Tehran. Tehran again blames Israel, which had previously threatened to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders after the October 7 attack.
2024, September 27: An Israeli airstrike kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah was the first armed group in the region to receive Iranian support, formed by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps who traveled to Lebanon in 1982.
2024, October 1: Iran launches its second direct attack on Israel, with the country’s military and its Western allies neutralizing most of the missiles.
2024, October 16: Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip.
2024, October 26: Israel openly attacks Iran for the first time, targeting air defense systems and facilities related to its nuclear program.
2025, April 30: Iran executes a man who claims to have been working with Israel’s Mossad and is suspected of playing a role in the assassination of Revolutionary Guard Colonel Hassan Sayyed Khodayi in Tehran on May 22, 2022.
2025, June 13: Israel launches two strikes on the “heart” of Iran’s nuclear and military facilities. It reportedly used fighter jets and drones that had illegally entered the country to attack key facilities and kill senior generals and scientists.
2025, June 14: Israel expands its airstrikes and strikes energy targets in Iran. Tehran continues to launch missiles and drones into Israeli territory.
2025, June 15: The IDF continues its bombing of Iran for the third day and threatens to escalate its attacks even further. Several Iranian missiles manage to bypass Israeli air defense systems, hitting buildings in the “heart” of the country. The planned nuclear talks between Iran and the US, scheduled for the coming days in Oman, have now been canceled.
