Iran And The Us Have Been At War For Decades. Here’s How It Began

It whitethorn look that nan US and nan Middle East are presently embarking connected yet another everlastingly war. But nan truth is that this is conscionable nan latest instalment of an undeclared military conflict between nan 2 nations that has been ongoing since nan 1980s.

For Americans, nan warfare began successful 1979, erstwhile Iranian students seized nan US embassy successful Tehran and held 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. For Iranians, it began pinch US support for nan Shah and its consequent backing of Iraq passim nan 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

The conflict has claimed galore civilian lives. On July 3 1988, nan US warship Vincennes downed Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian formation bound for Dubai. The USS Vincennes misidentified nan Airbus arsenic a subject craft and changeable it down, sidesplitting each 290 group connected board. More recently, connected 28 February 2026, a US-Israeli rocket deed a girls’ schoolhouse successful confederate Iran, sidesplitting complete 150 civilians, astir of them children.

Iran besides changeable down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 connected January 8, 2020. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mistook nan civilian level for a US subject flight, and fired 2 surface-to-air missiles that killed each 176 passengers, mostly Iranian civilians.

Each broadside has, astatine different moments, made catastrophic errors nether conditions of escalation. But these tragic incidents are not conscionable history. For Iranians and Americans alike, they person profoundly reinforced nan celebrated and organization position that bid tin ne'er really beryllium achieved betwixt nan 2 nations.

The 1980s: tanker war

In 1984, Iraq initiated nan “tanker war” pinch Iran erstwhile its aerial unit attacked lipid tankers bound for Iranian ports. The tanker warfare continued for years, and yet progressive nan US Navy when, connected May 17 1987, an Iraqi level accidentally struck nan American frigate The Stark, sidesplitting 37 unit members.

The US chose to refocus attraction distant from Iraq and connected Iran, arguing that nan Islamic Republic was responsible arsenic it had grounded to work together to discuss an extremity to nan war.

The US past provided naval protection for Kuwaiti lipid tankers moving done nan Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz by requiring them to hoist an American flag. But unit only escalated. Iran targeted nan American-reflagged ships, and nan US retaliated by striking Iranian offshore platforms and speedboats utilized by nan Revolutionary Guards. It besides sank 2 Iranian frigates, eliminating half of Iran’s navy.

It was amid these hostilities that Iran Air Flight 655 was changeable down. How this incident occurred during nan fog of warfare is still nan taxable of aggravated debate. For Iranians, nan onslaught confirmed they were successful a de facto warfare pinch nan US, who they saw arsenic lashing retired successful vicarious vengeance for nan 1979 hostage crisis.

Ultimately, nan downing of its airliner brought Iran to judge nan ceasefire that ended nan Iran-Iraq War. Iran’s conflict pinch Iraq ended, but its warfare pinch nan US did not.

The 2000s: proxies and crushed war

The 1980s section of this warfare was fought by naval vessels successful nan Gulf, but nan 2nd shape was a proxy conflict fought connected nan ground.

After 2001, George W. Bush included nan Islamic Republic successful an “axis of evil”, alongside Iraq and North Korea.

In March 2003, aft nan penetration of Iraq nether Bush, Iran abruptly recovered US troops connected 2 borders (Iraq and Afghanistan). Tehran feared that nan Bush management would activity authorities change, and that nan US aliases Israel would explosive its atomic facilities.

One instrumentality astatine Iran’s disposal was its support of a assortment of Iraqi insurgents to target American forces. One of its Iraqi proxies, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, formed successful 2006, targeted US subject vehicles pinch improvised explosive devices, challenging American power of nan motorways.

This low-intensity conflict only coiled down erstwhile American forces near Iraq successful 2011.

The 2010s and 2020s: aerial warfare complete Iraq

During nan 2010s, nan Obama management entered a de facto confederation pinch nan Islamic Republic to combat ISIS. The US provided aerial screen while Iran fought alongside Iraqi Shi’a militias connected nan ground.

In October 2017, 2 months earlier ISIS officially mislaid nan immense mostly of its territories successful Iraq and Syria, Donald Trump announced nan US’s withdrawal from nan Iran atomic woody and re-imposed sanctions connected nan Islamic Republic.

Relations quickly soured, arsenic Tehran retaliated by targeting US forces successful Iraq, ushering successful an aerial war. Rockets were fired astatine American targets successful Iraq by Kataib Hizballah, an Iran-allied militia, and nan US retaliated pinch aerial strikes.

Violence spiralled further connected December 27 2019, erstwhile nan aforesaid militia attacked nan al-Taji base, an Iraqi subject installation lodging US forces, sidesplitting an American contractor. Two days later, nan US responded pinch an aerial ambush connected respective targets related to nan Iraqi militia, sidesplitting astatine slightest 25 of its members.

On December 31 2019, nan US embassy successful Baghdad’s Green Zone was stormed by Iraqi demonstrators affiliated pinch nan militia.

Trump, faced pinch optics reminiscent of nan 1979 hostage crisis, ordered a drone onslaught connected January 3 2020 that killed General Qassem Soleimani, nan commandant of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, arsenic good arsenic Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, leader of nan militia. Iran retaliated by launching 22 Fateh ballistic missiles astatine 2 Iraqi bases lodging American forces connected January 8.

Soleimani’s decease was nan first clip nan US had straight killed a elder Iranian authorities official. It crossed nan period from proxy warfare to nonstop state-on-state targeting.

In nan aftermath, Iran’s subject accidentally changeable down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 extracurricular of Tehran, mistaking it for US retaliation. It was a tragic echo of nan Vincennes incident.

During this period, Iran mostly showed restraint successful its aerial attacks connected nan US. During nan 2025 12-Day Israel-Iran War, for instance, it launched a single, choreographed subject onslaught against nan al-Udeid Airbase successful Qatar which was lodging US forces, very akin to its cautiously orchestrated 2020 rocket strikes.

Today, that restraint is nary longer successful place. What we are seeing now is wide Iranian retaliation passim nan full region.

A long, undeclared war

For Iranians, nan circumstances that led to nan downing of its airliner successful 1988 resonate pinch nan present: nan nonstop subject action of June 2025, Trump ordering nan assassination of Soleimani successful January 2020, and economical warfare done sanctions.

The 2015 Iran woody was nan first effort to extremity nan conflict betwixt nan 2 nations that began successful nan 1980s. The woody was Barack Obama’s awesome negotiated triumph, and Trump has been fixated connected undoing nan policies of his predecessor.

However, nan caller escalation betwixt nan US and Iran was besides a bequest of nan Biden administration, which had nan chance to de-escalate nan agelong warfare betwixt Iran and nan US aft winning nan November 2020 elections.

US deployment to nan Gulf successful nan 1980s was disproportionate to nan threat to shipping, and was seen by galore arsenic a flimsy pretext to activity retired warfare pinch Iran. A likewise dubious justification – that Iran was conscionable weeks distant from a atomic limb – was made by Israel to warrant its 12-Day War successful June 2025.

As of February 2026, nan US has initiated nan latest information successful this conflict. To date, some states managed to escalate without crossing into full war, but that equilibrium whitethorn now beryllium breaking down.