From the 1953 coup to nuclear brinkmanship and Gulf strikes: how seven decades of mistrust turned two one‑time partners into permanent adversaries
The United States and Iran are not formally at war, but they are locked in a long, bitter confrontation that now includes missile strikes, proxy clashes and cyberattacks across the Middle East. What began as an alliance built on oil and anti‑communism collapsed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and has since evolved into a “shadow war” that regularly threatens to spill over into open conflict.
