The conflict between the US and Iran: At a glance

The US vs Iran conflict has ancient roots. The crisis started during the 1940's and its effects are still felt today. Let's see why.

Since Donald Trump’s administration took power, his negotiations with North Korea have failed and he has withdrawn the US from the Iran nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration. He has also reimposed the financial sanctions on Iran, paving the way for the current impasse. However, the conflict between the US and Iran started a long time ago.

Conflict between the US and Iran: when did it start?

The conflict started in the 1940s during World War II, both the UK and the Soviet Union invaded Iran with the support of the United States.

In 1953, with all parties at the negotiating table, the CIA overthrew the elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and returned control to the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
In 1979, the Iranian Revolution succeeded in overthrowing the Shah. The revolution led to the abduction of 52 U.S. diplomats for 444 days. This set the scene for new and heightened economic sanctions that continue to the present day.

The crisis between the two

Once Iran took up it’s nuclear program, the crisis reached a new height. In 2006, the U.S. accused Iran of helping terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and followed this up with new sanctions. Almost ten years later, in 2015, the Obama administration signed a treaty for the total nuclear disarmament of Iran.
In 2016, Trump administration left this multilateral nuclear treaty and renewed the sanctions on Iran for another 10 years. Trump recently ordered the drone strike that killed Major General Qassem Suleimani, the highest-ranking military officer in Iran. They accused him of acts of terrorism against the United States.

With both countries now at a stand off, the tension seems to have hit a point of no return. The only hope is that both parties currently claim to not want a war in the region and are talking of the possibility of new negotiations.