An ally of Israel under the Shah's regime, Iran, the target of an American-Israeli offensive since Saturday, switched after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to the camp of its sworn enemies.

Here is an update on their relations as the two countries have been engaged in an unprecedented war since Saturday.

- From agreement to breakdown -

Two years after the creation of Israel, Iran became, in 1950, the second Muslim country, after Turkey, to recognize the new state. At that time, Iran was home to the largest Jewish community in the Middle East.

Israel maintains a significant diplomatic mission in Iran and imports 40% of its oil needs from that country in exchange for weapons, technology and agricultural products.

The formidable Savak, the Iranian political police, was created in 1957 with the help of the American CIA and later the Israeli Mossad.

But in 1979, with the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Iran ceased all official relations with Israel, which it no longer recognized. Informal trade links were nevertheless maintained.

In 1980, Iranian-inspired Islamic Jihad became the first Palestinian Islamist organization to take up arms against Israel.

During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), Israel nevertheless supplied missiles to Tehran. The transaction was revealed as part of the Iran-Contra affair, which involved US arms sales to Iran aimed at securing the release of American hostages held in Lebanon.

- Hezbollah, the armed wing of Iran -

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to dislodge the Palestinian fighters.

The Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, helped to create Hezbollah, a Shiite movement that established itself in southern Lebanon and waged an armed struggle against Israel.

Iran and Hezbollah are accused by Israel of involvement in several attacks against Israeli or Jewish interests abroad.

Iran is arming itself, Israel is alarmed.

In 1998, Iran claimed to have tested for the first time the Chahab-3 surface-to-surface missile, with a range of 1,300 km, capable of reaching Israel.

The ultraconservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, elected in 2005, has repeatedly predicted the disappearance of Israel.

Iran resumes its uranium enrichment activities, claiming to be developing nuclear technology for civilian purposes, while Western nations fear the country is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

In 2015, Iran concluded an agreement with major international powers to regulate its nuclear program. Israel supported the United States when they unilaterally withdrew from the agreement three years later.

- Syria, a scene of clashes -

After 2011, Iranian-backed groups, including Hezbollah, helped keep Bashar al-Assad in power for more than 13 years of civil war, while regularly being the target of Israeli bombing.

With the overthrow of the Syrian government in December 2024, Tehran loses an essential link in its "axis of resistance" against Israel.

In 2020, the Abraham Accords led to the normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

- Iranian missiles against Israel -

Attacks between the two countries intensified after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas (allied with Iran) on October 7, 2023 on Israeli soil.

On April 13, 2024, in response to a strike attributed to Israel against the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Iran launched a drone and missile attack towards Israel, the first Iranian military operation directly targeting Israeli territory since 1979.

On October 1, Iran launched a new missile attack on Israel after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah were killed by Israeli operations in Tehran and near Beirut respectively.

- Twelve Days' War -

A twelve-day war between the two countries is triggered in June 2025 by Israel, which notably strikes nuclear facilities in Iran, supported by the United States, until a fragile ceasefire came into effect on the 24th.