Iran–Israel relations
Based on Wikipedia: Iran–Israel relations
In February 2026, Israel assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The strike—which came amid an ongoing joint bombing campaign with the United States—marked perhaps the most dramatic moment in a conflict that has simmered for decades. But the Iran-Israel conflict isn't new. It's a feud rooted in ancient history, ideological animosity, and strategic competition that has shaped the Middle East for over forty years.
The Long Road to Hostility
The story begins, paradoxically, with an unlikely partnership. In the early decades of Israel's existence—from its founding in 1948 through roughly the late 1970s—Iran under the Shah remained a behind-the-scenes ally. Persian Jews have lived in what is now Iran for over 2,700 years, since the first Jewish diaspora when Shalmaneser V conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. The biblical Book of Ezra credits Cyrus the Great with permitting Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple—policies that earned him respect from Jewish communities.
Even as late as 1947, Iran was among just thirteen countries voting against the United Nations Partition Plan for the British Mandate of Palestine. Two years later, it voted against Israel's admission to the United Nations. Yet despite this opposition at the UN, Iran became the second Muslim-majority country—after Turkey—to recognize Israeli sovereignty.
The 1953 coup d'état that strengthened Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's rule significantly improved relations between Tehran and Jerusalem. For nearly three decades, the two countries maintained what might be called a cold peace: diplomatic ties were formal but cautious, trading relationships existed, and above all, both feared the Soviet threat.
Everything changed in 1979.
The Revolution That Transformed Everything
When Iran's secular monarchy collapsed under the weight of the Islamic Revolution, it didn't just replace a government—it rewired an entire nation's identity. The new Islamic Republic adopted what would become a core tenet of its foreign policy: the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state. Iran refused to recognize Israel's legitimacy as a state, calling instead for its destruction and viewing Palestine as the sole legitimate authority over what had once been Mandatory Palestine.
Iran severed diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel immediately. The formal rupture was absolute, though covert contacts continued during the brutal Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988). But the ideological chasm had already formed.
By 1985, a new dynamic emerged: a proxy conflict that would reshape Middle Eastern geopolitics for decades to come.
The Proxy Wars
The early 1990s turned up the heat. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's government adopted a more aggressive posture toward Iran. Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made increasingly inflammatory statements against Israel.
The tensions weren't merely rhetorical. A confluence of factors pushed both sides toward confrontation: Iran's nuclear program became a flashpoint; Iranian funding to militant groups—including Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the Houthis—created an axis of enemies surrounding Israel's borders; and Iranian involvement in attacks like the 1992 Buenos Aires Israeli embassy bombing and the 1994 AMIA bombing added layers of culpability.
Direct military confrontation arrived. In the 2006 Lebanon War, Iran and Israel found themselves on opposite sides of a conflict that killed hundreds. Later, both countries began providing support for opposing factions in the Syrian and Yemeni civil wars, turning regional conflicts into proxy theaters for their rivalry.
The sabotage era followed. Cyberattacks struck each other's infrastructure—targeting nuclear facilities and oil tankers alike.
The New Cold War Goes Hot
In 2024, amid escalating regional tensions from the Gaza war, Iran-Israel relations entered a period of direct conflict. Both countries carried out missile strikes against each other; Israel assassinated targets in Iran and Syria.
By 2025, Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military facilities, sparking what became the twelve-day-long Iran-Israel War. The conflict was brief but violent—and it marked the first time both nations had openly gone to war.
In 2026, Israel and the United States launched a joint airstrike bombing campaign inside Iran. The offensive continues today. As part of these strikes, Israel—with American support—assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026.
The killing has not ended the conflict. The war goes on.
A Story Without End
What makes this rivalry so volatile is its nature: it's ideological, existential, and strategic all at once. Israel views Iran as an existential threat—its nuclear program a matter of national survival. Iran sees Israel as a colonial impost that must be erased—its existence an affront to everything the Islamic Republic claims to represent.
Iran's proxy conflict with Saudi Arabia has, paradoxically, led to an informal alliance between Israel and Arab states—a coalition of convenience against Iranian influence. The region burns, and two former partners now face each other across a divide that no diplomat can bridge.