Pre-modern background releases
Jews from the
Babylonian captivity to resettle and rebuild
Jerusalem.
Jean Fouquet, 1470. The beginnings of
Jewish history in Iran dates from late
Biblical times. The biblical books of
Isaiah,
Daniel,
Ezra,
Nehemiah,
Chronicles, and
Esther contain references to the life and experiences of Jews in
Persia. In the book of Ezra, the Persian king
Cyrus the Great is credited with permitting and enabling the Jews to return to
Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple; its reconstruction was carried out "according to the decree of
Cyrus, and
Darius, and
Artaxerxes king of Persia" (Ezra 6:14). This is said to have taken place in the late sixth century BC, by which time there was a well-established and influential Jewish community in
Persia. Persian Jews have lived in the territories of today's
Iran for over 2,700 years, since the first
Jewish diaspora when
Shalmaneser V conquered the
(Northern) Kingdom of Israel (722 BC) and sent the
Israelites into captivity at
Khorasan. In 586 BC, the
Babylonians expelled large populations of Jews from
Judea to the
Babylonian captivity. Jews who migrated to ancient Persia mostly lived in their own communities. The
Jewish Bible's Ketuvim ends in
Second Chronicles with the decree of Cyrus, which returned the exiles to the
Promised Land from Babylon along with a commission to rebuild the temple. 'Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth hath
Yahweh, the God of heaven, given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all His people—may Yahweh, his God, be with him—let him go there.' (2 Chronicles 36:23) This edict is also fully reproduced in the
Book of Ezra. "In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: 'Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be retained, its height being 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits; with three layers of huge stones and one layer of timbers. And let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. Also let the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.' (Ezra 6:3–5) As a result of Cyrus's policies, the Jews honored him as a dignified and righteous king. There is no evidence that the declaration reflected a unique attitude toward Jews. Rather, it may have been part of his renowned tolerance toward the cultures and religions of the people under his rule. The historical nature of this decree has been challenged. Professor Lester L Grabbe argues that there was no decree but that there was a policy that allowed exiles to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples. He also argues that the archaeology suggests that the return was a "trickle", taking place over perhaps decades, resulting in a maximum population of perhaps 30,000.
Philip R. Davies called the authenticity of the decree "dubious", citing Grabbe and adding that J. Briend argued against "the authenticity of Ezra 1.1–4 is J. Briend, in a paper given at the Institut Catholique de Paris on 15 December 1993, who denies that it resembles the form of an official document but reflects rather biblical prophetic idiom". Mary Joan Winn Leith believes that the decree in Ezra might be authentic and along with the Cylinder that Cyrus, like earlier rules, was through these decrees trying to gain support from those who might be strategically important, particularly those close to Egypt which he wished to conquer. He also wrote that "appeals to Marduk in the cylinder and to Yahweh in the biblical decree demonstrate the Persian tendency to co-opt local religious and political traditions in the interest of imperial control". According to the Bible, Cyrus ordered rebuilding the
Second Temple in the same place as the first; he died before it was completed.
Darius the Great came to power in the Persian empire and ordered the completion of the temple. According to the Bible, the prophets
Haggai and
Zechariah urged this work. The temple was ready for consecration in the spring of 515 BCE, more than twenty years after the Jews' return to Jerusalem. According to the
Book of Esther, during the reign of Persian King
Ahasuerus, generally identified as
Xerxes the Great (son of Darius the Great) in 6th century BCE, the vizier
Haman instigated a plot to kill all the Jews of ancient Persia. The plot was thwarted by Queen
Esther who ordered the hanging of Haman and his ten sons. This event is celebrated as the holiday of
Purim.
Israeli independence to Iranian revolution (1947–1979) In 1947, Iran was one of the 11 members that formed the
Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) charged to investigate the cause of the conflict in
Palestine Mandate, and, if possible, devise a solution. After much deliberation the committee presented a
Partition Plan for Palestine, which had the support of 8 of the 11 members of UNSCOP. Iran along with India and Yugoslavia opposed the plan, predicting it would lead to an escalation of violence. Arguing that peace could only be established through a single federal state, Iran voted against the partition plan when it was adopted by the UN General Assembly. Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi predicted that the partition would lead to generations of fighting. In Spring of 1948, 30,000 Iranians in Tehran gathered to protest against the establishment of Israel. Reza Saffinia arriving at the
house of Israeli president Chaim Weizmann in
Rehovot on
Yom Ha'atzmaut, 1950.|left After the
establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948, Israel and Iran maintained close ties. Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel as a sovereign state after
Turkey. Israel viewed Iran as a natural ally as a non-Arab power on the edge of the
Arab world, in accordance with David Ben Gurion's concept of an
alliance of the periphery. Israel had a permanent delegation in Tehran which served as a
de facto embassy, before Ambassadors were exchanged in the late 1970s. After the
Six-Day War, Iran supplied Israel with a significant portion of its oil needs and Iranian oil was shipped to European markets via the joint Israeli-Iranian
Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline. Trade between the countries was brisk, with Israeli construction firms and engineers active in Iran.
El Al, the Israeli national airline, operated direct flights between
Tel Aviv and
Tehran. Iranian-Israeli military links and projects were kept secret, but they are believed to have been wide-ranging, for example the joint military project
Project Flower (1977–79), an Iranian-Israeli attempt to develop a new missile.
Debts By 1979, Israel owed about a billion dollars to Iran for business conducted before the Iranian revolution. Some of the debt arose from oil purchased by Israel, and a larger amount from the operation of the
Trans-Israel oil pipeline and associated port facilities, which were a joint venture between Israeli companies and the
National Iranian Oil Company. Israel decided against paying the debt at a meeting in 1979 and granted legal indemnity to Israeli companies which owed it. At least one Israeli bank account is known to hold $250 million owed to Iran. Since the 1980s, Iran has been suing in the European courts for payment of the debts and has won several cases. Payment of the debts is legally complicated by the international sanctions against Iran and by the fact that Israel classifies Iran as an enemy state. In May 2015, a Swiss court ordered the
Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company to pay $1.1 billion to Iran, which Israel refuses to do.
Islamist advocacy for Palestinians (1947–1979) Iranian Islamists have a long history of sympathizing with the Palestinians. In 1949, Iranian ayatollah
Mahmoud Taleghani visited the
West Bank and was moved by the plight of
Palestinian refugees. Taleqani then began advocating for Palestinians inside Iran in the 1950s and 1960s.
Ayotallah Taleghani also criticized the Iranian government's diplomatic relations with Israel and lamented that the Iranian government restricted pro-Palestinian meetings. Ayotallah
Abol-Ghasem Kashani also criticized his government's decision to recognize Israel. Kashani, who had supported anti-colonial movements in Egypt and Tunisia, saw
Israel as a colonial outpost. After the
Six-Day War in 1967, he started raising funds (e.g.
zakat) inside Iran to be sent to Palestinians. The Iranian government at the time was alarmed at these activities and
SAVAK documents indicate that the government believed that the Iranian public was sympathetic to the Palestinian people. Iranians often donated their
zakat to Palestinians. By 1970, the Iranian government tried to prevent such fundraising efforts. SAVAK detained and surveilled
Ayotallah Motahhari and pressured him to stop fundraising, but Motahhari refused. Likewise
Ruhollah Khomeini championed the Palestinian people before he became
Iran's Supreme Leader in 1979. He also criticized the
Pahlavi dynasty's ties with Israel, viewing Israel as a supporter of the Pahlavi regime.
Under Khomeini (1979–1989) Following the
Iranian Revolution and the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, Iran adopted a sharp anti-Israel stance. Iran cut off all official relations with Israel; official statements, state institutes, and events. Iran ceased to accept Israeli passports, and the holders of Iranian passports were banned from travelling to "the occupied Palestine". The
Israeli Embassy in Tehran was closed and handed over to
the PLO.
Ayatollah Khomeini declared Israel an "
enemy of Islam" and the "
Little Satan". The
United States was called the "
Great Satan" while the
Soviet Union was called the "Lesser Satan". According to
Trita Parsi, Iran's strategic imperatives compelled the Khomeini government to maintain clandestine ties to Israel, while hope that the
periphery doctrine could be resurrected motivated the Jewish State's assistance to Iran. At the same time, Iran provided support for Islamist-Shia Lebanese parties, helping to consolidate them into a single political and military organization,
Hezbollah, and providing them the ideological indoctrination, military training and equipment to attack Israeli and American targets.
Israeli logistical support for Iran during the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) Israel sold Iran US$75 million worth of arms from stocks of Israel Military Industries, Israel Aircraft Industries and Israel Defense Forces stockpiles, in their Operation Seashell in 1981. Material included 150
M-40 antitank guns with 24,000 shells for each gun, spare parts for tank and aircraft engines, 106 mm, 130 mm, 203 mm and 175 mm shells and
TOW missiles. This material was transported first by air by Argentine airline
Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense and then by ship. The same year Israel provided
active military support against Iraq by destroying the
Osirak nuclear reactor near
Baghdad, which the Iranians themselves had
previously targeted, but the
doctrine established by the attack would increase potential conflict in future years. Arms sales to Iran that totaled an estimated $500 million from 1981 to 1983 according to the Jafe Institute for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University. Most of it was paid for by Iranian oil delivered to Israel. "According to Ahmad Haidari, "an Iranian arms dealer working for the
Khomeini government, roughly 80% of the weaponry bought by Tehran" immediately after the onset of the war originated in Israel. , who perpetrated the
Ras Burqa massacre against Israeli tourists in 1985. According to Mark Phythian, the fact "that the Iranian air force could function at all" after Iraq's initial attack and "was able to undertake a number of sorties over
Baghdad and strike at strategic installations" was "at least partly due to the decision of the Reagan administration to allow Israel to channel arms of U.S. origin to Iran to prevent an easy and early Iraqi victory". Despite all the speeches of Iranian leaders and the denunciation of Israel at
Friday prayers, there were never less than around one hundred Israeli advisers and technicians in Iran at any time throughout the war, living in a carefully guarded and secluded camp just north of Tehran, where they remained even after the ceasefire. Israeli sales also included spare parts for U.S.-made
F-4 Phantom jets.
Ariel Sharon believed it was important to "leave a small window open" to the possibility of good relations with Iran in the future.
Increasing tensions (1989–present) Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei In December 2000, Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei called Israel a "cancerous tumour" that should be removed from the region. In 2005, he emphasized that "Palestine belongs to Palestinians, and the fate of Palestine should also be determined by the Palestinian people". In 2005 Khamenei clarified Iran's position after an international furor erupted over a remark attributed to
President Ahmadinejad according to which Israel should be "
wiped off the map" by saying that "the Islamic Republic has never threatened and will never threaten any country". On 15 August 2012, during a meeting with veterans of the
Iran–Iraq War, Khamenei said that he was confident that "the superfluous and fake Zionist (regime) will disappear from the landscape". On 19 August, he reiterated comments made by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which members of the international community, including the United States, France, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned, during which he called Israel a "cancerous tumour in the heart of the Islamic world" and said that its existence is responsible for many problems facing the Muslim world. On 9 September 2015, Khamenei said in his speech during the discussion about the
JCPOA: "I'd say to Israel that they will not see the end of these 25 years". These words were expressed in response to the Zionist regime, which said that had no more concern about Iran for the next 25 years after the JCPOA agreement.
Khatami presidency (1997–2005) Under reformist Iranian President
Mohammad Khatami, elected in 1997, some believed Iran–Israel relations would improve. Khatami called Israel an "illegal state" and a "parasite", but also said in 1999 Jews would be "safe in Iran" and all religious minorities would be protected. A report indicates that Iran tried in 2003 to initiate a rapprochement with Israel by recognizing its existence in a proposal to the United States. The report claims that Iran's peace proposal with Israel was not accepted by the United States. In January 2004, Khatami spoke to an Israeli reporter who asked him on what grounds Iran would recognize Israel. This was believed to be the first time he had spoken publicly with an Israeli. At the funeral of
Pope John Paul II in April 2005, Khatami was seated close to the Iranian-born
Israeli President Moshe Katsav, who is from the same province, the
Yazd Province, as Khatami. Katsav said that he shook Khatami's hand and the two had a brief conversation about Iran. Khatami denied this.
Ahmadinejad presidency (2005–2013) artwork on a dustbin displayed in front of the
Holy Defense Museum in Tehran, Iran. The election of Mahmud Ahmedinijiad, a hardliner of Iranian politics, relations with Israel became increasingly strained as the countries engaged in a
series of proxy conflicts and covert operations against each other. During the
2006 Lebanon War,
Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were believed to have directly assisted
Hezbollah fighters in their attacks on Israel. Multiple sources suggested that hundreds of IRGC operatives participated in firing rockets into Israel, and secured Hezbollah's long-range missiles. IRGC operatives were allegedly seen operating openly at Hezbollah outposts during the war. In addition, IRGC operatives were alleged to have supervised Hezbollah's attack on the
INS Hanit with a
C-802 anti-ship missile. The attack severely damaged the warship and killed four crewmen. It is alleged that between six and nine IRGC operatives were killed by the Israeli military during the war. According to the Israeli media their bodies were transferred to
Syria and from there, flown to
Tehran. During and immediately after the
Gaza War, the
Israeli Air Force, with the assistance of Israeli commandos, was reported to have carried out three
airstrikes in Sudan against Iranian arms being smuggled to
Hamas through
Sudan, as Iran launched an intensive effort to supply Hamas with weapons and ammunition. Israel hinted that it was behind the attacks. Two truck convoys were destroyed, and an arms-laden ship was sunk in the
Red Sea. On 4 November 2009, Israel
captured a ship in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and its cargo of hundreds of tons of weapons allegedly bound from Iran to Hezbollah. In 2010, a wave of assassinations targeting Iranian nuclear scientists began. The assassinations were widely believed to be the work of
Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service. According to Iran and global media sources, the methods used to kill the scientists is reminiscent of the way Mossad had previously assassinated targets. The assassinations were alleged to be an attempt to stop Iran's nuclear program, or to ensure that it cannot recover following a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. In the first attack, particle physicist
Masoud Alimohammadi was killed on 12 January 2010 when a
booby-trapped motorcycle parked near his car exploded. On 12 October 2010, an explosion occurred at an
IRGC military base near the city of
Khorramabad, killing 18 soldiers. On 29 November 2010, two senior Iranian nuclear scientists,
Majid Shahriari and
Fereydoon Abbasi, were targeted by hitmen on motorcycles, who attached bombs to their cars and detonated them from a distance. Shahriari was killed, while Abbasi was severely wounded. On 23 July 2011,
Darioush Rezaeinejad was shot dead in eastern Tehran. On 11 January 2012,
Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan and his driver were killed by a bomb attached to their car from a motorcycle. In June 2010,
Stuxnet, an advanced
computer worm, was discovered. It is believed that it had been developed by U.S. and Israel to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. In a study conducted by
Institute for Science and International Security it is estimated that Stuxnet might have damaged as many as 1,000
centrifuges (10% of all installed) in the
Natanz enrichment plant. Other computer viruses and malware, including
Duqu and
Flame, were reportedly related to Stuxnet. Iran claims that its adversaries regularly engineer sales of faulty equipment and attacks by computer viruses to sabotage its nuclear program. On 15 March 2011,
Israel seized a ship from Syria bringing Iranian weapons to Gaza. In addition, the Mossad was also suspected of being responsible for an explosion that reportedly damaged the nuclear facility at
Isfahan. Iran denied that any explosion had occurred, but
The Times reported damage to the nuclear plant based on satellite images, and quoted Israeli intelligence sources as saying that the blast indeed targeted a nuclear site, and was "no accident". Hours after the blast took place, Hezbollah fired two rockets into northern Israel, causing property damage. The
Israel Defense Forces reacted by firing four artillery shells at the area from where the launch originated. It was speculated that the attack was ordered by Iran and Syria as a warning to Israel. The Israeli attack was reported to have killed 7 people, including foreign nationals. Another 12 people were injured, of whom 7 later died in hospital. The Mossad was also suspected of being behind an
explosion at a Revolutionary Guard missile base in November 2011. The blast killed 17 Revolutionary Guard operatives, including General
Hassan Moqaddam, described as a key figure in Iran's missile program. Israeli journalist
Ron Ben-Yishai wrote that several lower-ranked Iranian missile experts had probably been previously killed in several explosions at various sites. On 11 October 2011, the
United States claimed to have
foiled an alleged Iranian plot that included bombing the Israeli and
Saudi embassies in
Washington DC and
Buenos Aires. On 13 February 2012, Israeli embassy staff in
Georgia and
India were
targeted. In Georgia, a
car bomb failed to explode near the embassy and was safely detonated by Georgian police. In India, the car bomb exploded, injuring four people. Amongst the wounded was the wife of an Israeli Defense Ministry employee. Israel accused Iran of being behind the attacks. The following day, three alleged Iranian agents were uncovered in
Bangkok,
Thailand, thought to have been planning to kill Israeli diplomatic officials, including the ambassador, by attaching bombs to embassy cars. The cell was uncovered when one of their bombs exploded. Police responded, and the Iranian agent present at the house threw an explosive device at officers that tore his legs off, and was subsequently taken into custody. A second suspect was arrested as he tried to catch a flight out of the country, and the third escaped to
Malaysia, where he was arrested by Malaysian Federal Police. Thai police subsequently arrested two people suspected of involvement. Indian police arrested a Delhi-based journalist in connection with February's car bomb, which injured four Israelis including the wife of an Israeli diplomat. Syed Mohammed Kazmi the journalist was arrested on 6 March 2012, he is said to have been in contact with a suspect police believe might have stuck a magnetic bomb to the diplomat's car. It is said Kazmi was an Indian citizen who worked for an Iranian publication. In late February 2012, the
Stratfor email leak included a claim that Israeli commandos, in collaboration with
Kurdish fighters, destroyed several underground Iranian facilities used for nuclear and defense research projects. On 18 July 2012, a bus carrying Israeli tourists in
Bulgaria was destroyed in a
bombing attack that killed five Israeli tourists and the driver, and injured 32 people. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran and Hezbollah for the attack. In July 2012, a senior Israeli defense official stated that since May 2011, more than 20 terrorist attacks planned by Iran and Hezbollah against Israeli targets worldwide had been foiled, including in
South Africa,
Azerbaijan,
Kenya,
Turkey,
Thailand,
Cyprus,
Bulgaria,
Nepal, and
Nigeria, and that Iranian and Hezbollah operatives were incarcerated in jails throughout the world. On 6 October 2012, Israeli airplanes shot down a small
drone as it flew over northern
Negev. Hezbollah confirmed it sent the drone and
Nasrallah said in a televised speech that the drone's parts were manufactured in Iran. On 24 October 2012, Sudan claimed that Israel had
bombed a munitions factory, allegedly belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, south of Khartoum. In November 2012, Israel reported that an Iranian ship was being loaded with rockets to be exported to countries within range of Israel and that Israel "will attack and destroy any shipment of arms". In January 2013, the Fordo nuclear plant was hit by an explosion. Iranian officials suspected Mossad or CIA were responsible. On 25 April 2013, Israeli aircraft shot down a drone off the coast of
Haifa, allegedly belonging to Hezbollah. On 30 January 2013, Israeli aircraft allegedly
struck a Syrian convoy transporting Iranian weapons to Hezbollah. Other sources stated the targeted site was a
military research center in
Jamraya responsible for developing biological and chemical weapons. Two additional
air strikes reportedly took place on 3 and 5 May 2013. Both targeted long-ranged weapons sent from Iran to Hezbollah. According to anonymous U.S. officials,
Israel launched another airstrike or cruise missile attack on 5 July. It targeted Russian-made Yakhont anti-ship missiles near the city of Latakia, and killed several Syrian troops. On 7 May 2013, residents of Tehran reported hearing three blasts in an area where Iran maintains its missile research and depots. Later, an Iranian website said the blasts occurred at a privately owned chemical factory.
Rouhani presidency (2013–2021) In the Syrian Arab Republic Several incidents have taken place on the Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line during the
Syrian civil war, straining the Iran–Israel relations. The incidents are considered a spillover of the
Quneitra Governorate clashes since 2012 and later incidents between Iran-supported
Syrian Arab Army and the rebels, ongoing on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan and the Golan Neutral Zone and the
Hezbollah. Since the onset of the Syrian War, the Israeli military is reportedly preparing itself for potential threats should there be a power vacuum in Syria. "After Assad and after establishing or strengthening their foothold in Syria they are going to move and deflect their effort and attack Israel", an Israeli official told The Associated Press in January 2014. Some experts say that while the encroaching militant forces on Israel's border will heighten security measures, the advancements are not likely to create significant changes to Israel's policy disengagement in the Syria crisis. IAF has been suspected of a number of airstrikes on Syrian soil, allegedly targeting Iranian and Hezbollah targets. According to the Israeli military, since 2017 it has carried out over 400 airstrikes in Syria (and other areas in the Middle East) targeting Iran and its allies.
In Israel A court in Jerusalem has sentenced an Israeli man, Yitzhak Bergel to four-and-a-half years in prison for offering to spy for Iran. Bergel belongs to the anti-Zionist
Neturei Karta, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect which is vehemently opposed to the State of Israel's existence.
International incidents On 5 March 2014, the Israeli navy intercepted the Klos-C cargo ship. Israel stated Iran was using the vessel to smuggle dozens of long-range rockets to Gaza, including Syrian-manufactured M-302 rockets. The operation, named
Full Disclosure and carried out by
Shayetet 13 special forces, took place in the Red Sea, 1,500 kilometers away from Israel and some 160 kilometers from Port Sudan.
In Iran , Iran, 18 May 2018 On 6 May 2014, it was reported that a blast shook the Iranian city of
Qazvin.
Los Angeles Times reported that the city might be home to a secret nuclear facility. Iranian state media reported that on 24 August 2014,
IRGC had shot down an Israeli drone near
Natanz fuel enrichment plant. The Israeli military did not comment on the reports. Two workers were killed in an explosion that took place at a military explosives factory southeast of Tehran, near the suspected nuclear reactor in
Parchin. In what was claimed by a Kuwaiti newspaper to be a response ordered by Iran, Hezbollah set off an explosive device on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-controlled side of the
Shebaa farms, wounding two Israeli soldiers. Israel responded with artillery fire toward two Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon. On 7 January 2026, Iranian state media reported that Iran executed a man identified as Ali Ardestani after convicting him of spying for Israel’s intelligence service,
Mossad, a move criticised by human rights groups as part of a pattern of politically motivated executions and trials lacking due process.
Raisi presidency (2021–2024) 's bombing of the
Gaza Strip in Tehran on 18 November 2023|left
In Iran In April 2022, President Ebrahim Raisi declared in the speech for military parade that "Iran's armed forces will target Israel's heart if it makes 'the slightest move'". In May 2022, Colonel Sayad Khodayee was killed outside his home in Tehran by two gunmen on motorcycles. Iran blamed Israel for this. The spokeswoman of the Israeli prime minister refuse to "comment on the killing". But an unnamed intelligence official of Israel reported to NYT that Israel was responsible for the killing. As NYT reported, Iran accused Israel of killing two Iranian scientists by "poisoning their food", according to an Iranian official who did not want to be named. The two scientists were Ayoub Entezari, an aeronautical engineer who worked for a military research center, and Kamran Aghamolaei, a geologist. Israeli media and Persian news channels abroad claimed that "Mr. Aghamolaei worked at Iran's
Natanz nuclear facility".
International incidents On 1 April 2024, the Iranian consulate annex building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, was struck by an
Israeli airstrike, killing 16 people, including Brigadier General
Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior
Quds Force commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and seven other IRGC officers. On 13 April, Iran retaliated against the attack with
missile and drone strikes in Israel. On 19 April, Israel launched a series of
retaliatory missile strikes on Iranian military sites. Iranian officials have also reported explosions at military sites in Syria and Iraq.
Pezeshkian presidency (2024–present) On 5 August 2024
Ali Bagheri, Foreign Minister of Iran, notified his counterpart in Israel,
Israel Katz, through the good offices of
Hungary's
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of its intent to avenge the assassination of
Palestinian Authority negotiator
Ismail Haniyeh. Bagheri made no mention in his published transcript of the conversation of the particular act of Israel that wronged his country.
Xinhua of China characterized Haniyeh as "Hamas Politburo Chief", and left no doubt that Iran's intent was to seek vengeance for
his assassination. On 1 October 2024, Iran
launched about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for assassinations of Haniyeh,
Hassan Nasrallah and
Abbas Nilforoushan. On 27 October, Israel responded to that attack by
strikes on a missile defence system in the Iranian region of Isfahan. On 13 June 2025
Israel carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets the day after the
International Atomic Energy Agency declared that Iran had violated its obligations regarding nuclear profiliation. On 19 June 2025, during the
Iran–Israel war, Iran launched a missile barrage targeting the
Soroka Medical Center in
Beersheva. The strike injured people in the hospital, caused severe damage and a suspected chemical leak, forcing patients to evacuate.
2025-2026 Iranian Protests Beginning on 28 December 2025, mass
demonstrations erupted across
Iran amid a deepening economic crisis and widespread dissatisfaction with the Islamic Republic government. As protests continued, Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for Iranian protesters. In January 2026, Israel placed its military and security forces on high alert amid reports that the
United States was considering possible intervention in
Iran following
widespread anti-government protests there. Iranian officials warned that Tehran would retaliate against both U.S. and Israeli targets in the event of an attack, contributing to heightened regional tensions and Israeli security planning. In late January 2026, senior Israeli and Saudi defense and intelligence officials traveled to
Washington for consultations with U.S. counterparts regarding Iran, amid reports that U.S. officials were considering possible military options in response to developments there. At the same time, analysts cited by Reuters assessed that any potential U.S. or Israeli action against Iran was likely to be limited in scope in order to avoid wider regional escalation.
2026 Iran war Since 28 February 2026, Israel and the United States have been launching coordinated joint attacks on various sites in Iran, which has started a major conflict. Codenamed Operation Roaring Lion by Israel and Operation Epic Fury by the United States, it targeted key Iranian officials, military commanders and facilities, and was aimed at
regime change. Iran's response has been named Operation True Promise IV, an incremental continuation of previous military operations named
Operation True Promise. As part of these strikes,
Israel assassinated Khamenei on 28 February 2026, with his death confirmed the next day by Iranian state media after previously being first claimed publicly by Netanyahu. == Destruction of Israel in Iranian policy ==