WAR: Iran, Israel, and the United States
BY: MIYINGO Ivan, MPhil, B. Pharm, MPS
The conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States did not begin as a single war overnight; it evolved through decades of ideological hostility, proxy warfare, assassinations, sanctions, covert operations, cyber warfare, nuclear disputes, and regional power struggles.
Its roots trace back to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when the pro-Western Shah of Iran was overthrown and replaced by the Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini. Before this revolution, Iran and Israel had quiet strategic relations, and Iran was a close ally of the United States.
After the revolution, the new Iranian government adopted a fiercely anti-American and anti-Israeli posture, viewing both states as symbols of Western domination in the Middle East.
The seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and the 444-day hostage crisis transformed Iran into a permanent adversary of Washington, while Israel increasingly viewed revolutionary Iran as an existential threat because of its anti-Israel rhetoric and support for militant groups across the region.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the confrontation remained mostly indirect. Iran built what later became known as the “Axis of Resistance,” a network of allied armed groups and political movements across the Middle East. This included groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq and Syria, and later support ties with Hamas in Gaza.
Iran’s strategy was asymmetrical: instead of fighting the United States or Israel directly, it projected power through proxies capable of pressuring Israeli and American interests without triggering a full-scale conventional war.
Israel responded with intelligence operations, targeted killings, sabotage missions, and airstrikes aimed at preventing Iranian entrenchment near its borders. The United States simultaneously imposed waves of sanctions designed to weaken Iran economically and isolate it diplomatically.
Over time, the struggle evolved into a hidden regional shadow war fought through espionage, proxy conflicts, and influence campaigns rather than direct invasion.
The Iranian nuclear program became the central flashpoint in the 2000s. Western governments and Israel feared Iran was moving toward the capability to build nuclear weapons, while Iran insisted its program was for civilian energy and scientific development.
The discovery of undeclared nuclear facilities intensified global suspicion. Israel repeatedly warned that a nuclear-armed Iran would fundamentally alter the balance of power in the Middle East and potentially threaten Israel’s survival.
The United States, European powers, and international agencies imposed increasingly severe sanctions, damaging Iran’s economy, banking system, currency, and oil exports.
At the same time, covert operations escalated. Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated, mysterious explosions struck nuclear sites, and cyberattacks such as the famous Stuxnet operation targeted Iranian centrifuges. Iran blamed Israel and the United States for these operations, deepening its sense of encirclement and hostility.
In 2015, a major diplomatic breakthrough occurred with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly called the Iran nuclear deal. Iran agreed to restrictions on uranium enrichment and nuclear inspections in exchange for sanctions relief.
However, Israel strongly opposed the agreement, arguing it merely delayed rather than eliminated Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
In 2018, the United States withdrew from the deal under President Donald Trump and reinstated severe sanctions under the “maximum pressure” campaign. Iran then gradually reduced compliance with the agreement, enriching uranium at higher levels and expanding its nuclear capabilities.
This collapse of diplomacy accelerated tensions across the region and strengthened hardline factions on all sides.
The confrontation entered a more explosive phase after the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. Regional tensions surged as Iranian-backed groups across Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria increased attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests.
Hezbollah exchanged fire with Israel across the Lebanese border, Iraqi militias targeted American bases, and Houthi forces in Yemen disrupted shipping lanes and attacked vessels linked to Israel and Western allies.
The Middle East increasingly resembled a connected battlefield stretching from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. Iran framed itself as the defender of anti-Israeli resistance movements, while Israel argued that Iran was orchestrating a coordinated regional encirclement strategy.
By 2024 and 2025, the conflict crossed a historic threshold: Iran and Israel began striking each other directly rather than only through proxies. Missile and drone exchanges shattered decades of unofficial limits.
Israeli airstrikes targeted Iranian commanders, weapons facilities, and positions in Syria and elsewhere, while Iran launched large-scale retaliatory barrages involving ballistic missiles and drones.
The June 2025 confrontation, sometimes described as a “Twelve-Day War,” became especially significant because it exposed vulnerabilities in missile-defense systems and demonstrated how rapidly regional escalation could occur.
Israeli and American defense planners reportedly concluded afterward that future wars with Iran could overwhelm air-defense capacity if Iran launched mass missile salvos.
The situation reached its most dangerous phase in February 2026. Following failed negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and growing fears about Iranian enrichment capabilities, the United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes deep inside Iran.
The attacks targeted nuclear infrastructure, missile bases, military headquarters, air-defense systems, and senior leadership compounds. The strikes marked one of the largest direct assaults on Iranian territory since the Iran-Iraq War decades earlier.
Iranian authorities described the operation as an act of war designed not merely to weaken Iran militarily but to destabilize the Islamic Republic itself. The conflict rapidly expanded across the region, affecting Iraq, the Gulf states, Lebanon, Syria, and maritime routes around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran retaliated with waves of ballistic missiles, drones, and regional proxy operations. Israeli cities experienced repeated air raid sirens, missile interceptions, and direct strikes despite sophisticated air-defense systems. U.S. bases across the Middle East were placed on high alert as Iranian-aligned groups intensified attacks.
Shipping lanes and oil infrastructure became strategic pressure points because Iran possesses the geographic ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz, through which a major portion of global oil supplies passes.
The economic consequences spread globally, influencing oil prices, shipping costs, insurance markets, and financial stability. The war also intensified fears of a broader regional catastrophe involving Gulf monarchies and potentially global powers aligned with different sides.
Internally, the conflict transformed politics inside all three countries. In Iran, the war fueled nationalism, fear, economic hardship, internet restrictions, and internal crackdowns, even as public frustration over sanctions and instability continued to simmer.
In Israel, the conflict reinforced long-standing security fears regarding Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities.
In the United States, debates erupted over military involvement, constitutional war powers, and the risks of another prolonged Middle Eastern war. Meanwhile, global diplomatic actors attempted mediation to prevent a wider collapse of regional stability.
As of May 2026, the conflict remains volatile and unresolved. Reports indicate active diplomatic efforts toward a temporary ceasefire or truce mediated through regional actors, but deep disputes persist over Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions, missile capabilities, and support for armed regional allies.
Despite extensive bombing campaigns and sanctions pressure, intelligence assessments suggest Iran retains significant military capacity and the ability to sustain prolonged resistance. The broader struggle is no longer simply about territory or even nuclear technology alone; it has evolved into a battle over regional dominance, ideological survival, deterrence, and the future balance of power in the Middle East.
© 2026
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