From strategic allies to regional enemies: How Israel and Iran became bitter foes

Before 1979, Israel and Iran enjoyed a discreet yet significant alliance, forged primarily under the rule of Iran’s last monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah’s regime recognized Israel de facto, becoming one of the first Muslim governments to do so. The relationship was mutually beneficial: Iran aimed to align with Western powers—particularly the Kennedy administration—using Israel as a diplomatic conduit. Israel, meanwhile, sought to escape regional isolation amid growing Arab hostility, especially following the rise of pan-Arabism under Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Geopolitical synergy was key. Both countries viewed Soviet communism and Baathist Iraq—under Saddam Hussein’s blend of Arab nationalism, socialism, and imperialism—as common threats. These converging strategic objectives led to military and intelligence cooperation. The nations established embassies in each other’s capitals and developed trilateral security arrangements with Turkey, most notably through an intelligence pact dubbed “Trident,” led by Mossad, which included support for the Kurdish movement in Iraq.

Israel aimed to escape its encirclement by hostile Arab regimes, while Iran needed a technologically advanced military partner tied closely to the United States. Their alliance was not just about survival—it was an ambitious attempt at regional leverage through pragmatism.

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1979 Islamic Revolution: A diplomatic earthquake

The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran upended the entire regional dynamic. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s new theocratic regime rejected Israel’s legitimacy, calling it the “Little Satan,” and reversed all aspects of the Shah’s foreign policy. Tehran severed ties with Israel, expelled diplomats, and handed its former Israeli mission over to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Anti-Zionism became a foundational pillar of Iran’s post-revolutionary foreign policy.

However, geopolitical complexity persisted. With the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980, Iran found itself threatened by Saddam Hussein’s aggression. Arab monarchies, fearing revolutionary spillover, formed the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981. Feeling isolated, Iran reportedly maintained low-level, secret military cooperation with Israel during the 1980s. Israel provided limited defense assistance as Iran fought to repel Saddam’s forces—a testament to how strategic necessity could quietly override ideological hostility.

The 1990s: Severed ties and rising militancy

By the 1990s, all official or covert cooperation between Tehran and Tel Aviv had effectively collapsed. Iran emerged as a central actor in regional proxy conflicts, throwing its weight behind groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Hezbollah, created with Iranian support in the 1980s, became a powerful anti-Israel militia with a vehemently anti-Western outlook. Iran also extended support to Hamas, despite its Sunni roots, as part of its broader strategy to destabilize Israel through non-state actors.

The ideological divide deepened dramatically under the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, elected in 2005. Ahmadinejad questioned the Holocaust’s existence and declared that Israel should be “wiped off the map.” His rhetoric alarmed the international community and hardened Israel’s view of Iran as a fundamental threat to its survival.

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The Iran-Israel rivalry turned openly hostile in the 2000s. Israel fought Hezbollah in a bloody 2006 war and launched repeated military operations against Hamas, including the 2008–2009 Gaza War. These were not just regional skirmishes—they were manifestations of the deeper Iran-Israel conflict playing out via proxies.

Nuclear tensions and cyber warfare

As Iran expanded its nuclear program, Israeli fears grew. Tehran insisted the programme was for peaceful purposes, but Israel and its allies suspected military intentions. Between 2009 and 2015, cyberattacks such as the Stuxnet virus—believed to be a joint US-Israeli operation—sabotaged Iran’s centrifuges. A series of high-profile assassinations targeted Iranian nuclear scientists, including Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed in 2020. Iran blamed Mossad for the hit.

In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with world powers, restricting its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Israel fiercely opposed the deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “historic mistake” and even addressed the US Congress in 2015 to lobby against it. In 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, reinstating sanctions and drawing praise from Israeli leadership. Iran responded by gradually exceeding the agreement’s uranium enrichment limits.

Acts of war: Buenos Aires to Damascus

The regional shadow war occasionally spilled into global arenas. In 1992, the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was targeted in a suicide bombing that killed 29 people and injured over 240. Argentina’s second-highest court and independent investigations later held Hezbollah, with Iranian backing, responsible for the attack. The New York Times, on April 12, 2024, reported that Iran orchestrated the bombing—further evidence of its international militant reach.

Then, on April 1, 2024, an Israeli airstrike allegedly struck the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria. The attack killed two top Iranian commanders—Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammed Hadi Haji Rahimi—closely tied to Hezbollah. Syrian military sources reported that six rockets fired from Israeli F-35 jets hit the building. The incident, which occurred in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights region, dramatically escalated tensions.

2025 confrontation: Missiles, retaliation, and nuclear threats

The confrontation culminated in mid-2025 with an unprecedented escalation. On June 13, 2025, Israel executed a major military operation targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities and military sites, including attacks on the Arak Heavy Water Reactor (June 19) and other sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Iran responded with direct missile launches and began discussing its withdrawal from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing a violation of sovereignty.

The same month, Iran retaliated by striking a US military base in Qatar on June 23. These attacks marked the most intense exchange between Iran and Israel to date and signaled a new phase in the regional conflict. Israeli strikes also intersected with the ongoing Israel–Hamas war that had reignited in 2024, adding to the complexity of the battlefield.

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Amid growing fears of an uncontrollable war, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel on June 24, 2025. According to the New York Times, neither Iran nor Israel formally endorsed the ceasefire, and Iran launched another strike hours later, killing four. Despite Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination for brokering the truce, the ceasefire remains tenuous at best.

The political and ideological roots of the conflict

At its core, the Iran-Israel conflict is driven by deep-seated ideological hostility and political maneuvering. Iran’s regime continues to reject Israel’s legitimacy and supports militant movements opposed to its existence. Iran also sees regional animosity toward Israel as a strategic tool to gain influence among Arab states.

Israel views Iran as the architect of much of the Middle East’s instability and a sponsor of terrorism. As former Israeli diplomat Uri Lubrani once remarked, “Iran will never fully accept Israel.” While pragmatic cooperation existed in the past, events like the Second Intifada and Israel’s withdrawals from southern Lebanon and Gaza solidified the breakdown of trust.