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)
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Business Standard
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- Business Standard
Iran nuclear programme set back years with strikes: CIA chief to lawmakers
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Hindustan Times
34 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Iran has ‘serious doubts' over ceasefire with Israel, says ready to strike if truce broken
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Mint
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Like producers of foie gras, they stuff it. Governments have long run deficits. France, the land of foie gras, has not seen a surplus since 1974. And a government can simultaneously borrow money and become less indebted, if the economy grows faster than debt accumulates. What is happening today, however, is unprecedented. Deficit levels would not be unusual if the economy were in recession. In fact, rich-world GDP is growing decently. The unemployment rate is near an all-time low. Corporations' profit growth is healthy. Meanwhile, borrowing costs have jumped. The average rich-world government, weighted by GDP, now borrows for ten years at a 3.7% annual interest rate, up from 1% during the covid-19 pandemic. In these circumstances, many textbooks would advise, at the very least, cutting your deficit. Today's governments prefer to double down. Many are promising to raise defence spending. Although that may be unavoidable, the same is not true of other decisions. In Japan political parties are offering fiscal sweeteners, ranging from cash handouts to consumption-tax cuts, ahead of an election to the upper house of parliament. The British government recently undid cash-saving measures it had imposed only a few months before, restoring payments to old people to help with energy bills. South Korea is cutting inheritance tax. Australia is cutting income tax. Even once-prudent countries are getting in on the act. The German government is planning to borrow €800bn ($940bn) to invest in defence and infrastructure. 'By German standards, this truly is 'whatever it takes' fiscal policy," say analysts at Deutsche Bank. Switzerland, which before the pandemic ran a large budget surplus, now has a small one. Next year the country will introduce a 13th month of state-pension payments. The silver-haireds enjoying a late lunch on the banks of the Rhine do not appear to be on the breadline. These days, though, everyone gets a handout. Why are governments so spendthrift? During the pandemic politicians developed a habit of bailing out businesses and households. High inflation then spurred demands for payments to alleviate a 'cost-of-living crisis". Today many incumbents hope to ward off populists by throwing around money. When a politician suggests a cut, 24-hour news and social media ensure that everyone hears a sob story. Fiscal responsibility is more toxic than ever before. Until recently, it was painless for governments to run loose fiscal policy. In 2021-23 nominal GDP was growing reasonably fast, inflation was high and interest rates were low. Under these conditions, the average rich-world government could run sizeable primary deficits (ie, before interest payments) and still cut their debt load. Some countries, such as Japan, could reduce their debt-to-GDP ratio even if they ran a primary deficit of 12% of GDP. As such, two-thirds of rich-world governments are less indebted today than five years ago. Japan's debt-to-GDP ratio has fallen by 24 percentage points. Greece's has fallen by 68 points. Today growth and inflation are down, and interest rates are up. We calculate that, for the average rich country to cut its debt, it must now balance its primary budget. For some, the fiscal arithmetic has radically altered. Italy's debt-reducing primary balance has swung from a deficit of 3.1% of GDP in 2023 to a surplus of 1.3% of GDP. The Italians are shrinking their budget deficit, but not by enough. With many other governments making even less progress, and a trade war promising a growth slowdown, rich-world public debt is likely to start rising (see chart 2). This is bad timing. Demographers have known for decades that the mid-2020s would be the point at which baby-boomers would begin to retire in droves, prompting demand for health care and pensions to surge. In 2015 Britain's Office for Budget Responsibility, a watchdog, suggested that even under benign conditions, now was the point at which the government would struggle to avoid accumulating debt. A demographic crunch and free-spending fiscal policies are therefore about to interact in unpleasant ways. No one can predict if or when investors will lose patience, forcing interest rates much higher. Yet there must be a limit to the debt binge. As any lover of foie gras knows, overfeeding even the greediest goose can cause its liver to explode.
