News24 | US and Iran Have a Long, Complicated History, Spanning Far Beyond Israel’s Strikes on Tehran

Iran-US relations: A history of hostilities from hostage crisis to nuclear tensions

The relationship between the United States and Iran is a complex one.

US and Iran have a long_ complicated history_ spanning far beyond Israel’s strikes on Tehran

Some of the major events in US-Iran relations highlight the differences between the countries’ views, but others presented real opportunities for reconciliation. ...

News24 | US and Iran have a long, complicated history, spanning far beyond Israel’s strikes on Tehran

Jeffrey Fields reflects on significant events in US-Iran relations, highlighting the differences between the two countries and showing where opportunities for reconciliation were lost.

US and Iran have a long, complicated history, spanning far beyond Israel’s strikes on Tehran

People observe fire and smoke from an Israeli airstrike on an oil depot in Tehran, Iran, on June 15, 2025. Stringer/Getty Images Relations between the United States and Iran have been fraught for decades – at least since the U.S. helped overthrow a democracy-minded prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, in August 1953. The U.S. then supported the long, repressive reign of the Shah of Iran, whose security services brutalized Iranian citizens for dec…