In Iran the protests continue and with them also the brutality repression of the population, while the President Donald Trump evaluated an attack – later frozen – by the USA. There are currently no official estimates of the number of deaths but Amnesty International and the NGO Iran International speak of thousands of deaths, an unspecified number which, according to some estimates, could exceed the 12,000 victims. But if we analyze the history of international relations between the two countries since after the Second World War, we can observe a discontinuous and complex relationship made up of temporary alliances, tensions, coups d’état and slight openings.
Iran after World War II: the 1953 coup
After the Second World War, in 1951, Iran was a constitutional monarchy, led by the King of Persia, the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and by the nationalist leader Mohammad Mosaddeghdemocratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. Mosaddegh began a policy of emancipation of Iran from the sphere of Western influenceespecially regarding Iranian mineral resources, oil above all. In fact, at the time, Great Britain, through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) controlled the majority of the country’s oil industry. Mosaddegh began a campaign of nationalization of the country’s oil companies, in a context of Cold War in which the United States strongly feared the proximity between Iran and the Soviet Union. For this reason, in 1953 there CIAcollaborating with the intelligence services of United Kingdomhe architected a coup d’état who overthrew Prime Minister Mosaddegh – in what was called Operation AJAX – and who effectively gave full powers to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The term shah comes from Persian shahwhich means “king” and indicates the command figure with absolute powers in the political but also spiritual fields.
The alliance between the United States and Iran
The Pahlavi Shah remained in power for about 20 years, during which time thealliance between Iran and the United States it strengthened considerably. Iran became one of the largest producers and exporters of oil and, also thanks to US support, began to strengthen its army and its own military powernecessary for the United States to stem Soviet power. During these years he also began development of Iran’s nuclear programwith the support of the United States: in 1957 in fact the two countries signed the Cooperation agreement on the civil use of atomic energyunder the presidency of Eisenhower, under which developing countries would receive nuclear training and technology by the United States for programs of research on nuclear power. Their collaboration continued until the beginning of the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
The 1979 revolution and Khomeini’s seizure of power
The 1979 represented one watershed both in Iranian history and in international relations between the two countries. Following the outbreak of Islamic revolution and the protests demanding the end of the Pahlavi Shah’s repressive regime, the latter was forced to flee and Ayatollah Khomeini he returned from exile in Paris, which lasted 14 years, establishing himself as Supreme leader of the country. Khomeini strongly opposed the Shah’s Westernization of Iran, transforming the country into a anti-Western Islamic theocracybased on Shariathe sacred law of the Islamic religion, founded on the Koran. In this context, the United States was identified as one of the main enemies of the Islamic Republic and, also following the 1979 hostage crisis, relations between the two countries took a sharp turn. break and they gave life to a frost period in diplomatic relations.
THEhe hostage crisis of 1979
The November 4, 1979 a group of Iranian students attacked the American embassy in Tehran, taking hostages 52 people, including diplomats and embassy staff. The request was extradite Shah Reza Pahlavitaken in by the United States for medical treatment, requesting his extradition to be tried and punished. The last hostages were released only in January 1981, after 444 days of detention. This episode has strongly influenced relations between Iran and the United States and since the 1979 revolution the two countries have severed diplomatic relations: Even today the United States does not have diplomatic representation in Tehran and vice versa. There is representation in Washington Interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United Statesthrough the Embassy of Pakistan.
After the hostage crisis, the United States participated in the Iran-Iraq war from the 1980 to 1988in which between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people died, supporting – with economic aid and intelligence services – Saddam Husseinand reinforcing tension between the United States and Iran.
At the same time, the Tehran regime, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, began a foreign policy of expansion of the Shiite religion also in neighboring countries, financing and militarily supporting forces such as the Hezbollah’s Lebanese Shiite militiasand being responsible for terrorist attacks against numerous US targets in the region.
1990s: The United States escalates sanctions against Iran
Relations between the United States and Iran have remained tense particularly regarding a possible nuclear armament Iranian which over time has led both the United States and the European Union to impose harsh measures economic sanctions against Iranparticularly under the Presidencies of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. In the 1992the US Congress approved theIran-Iraq Arms Non-proliferation Actwith sanctions on materials that could have been used to develop advanced weapons. In the 1995 the United States then imposed a total embargo on Iranian oil and trade, with particular concern over the enrichment facility of Natanz and on the heavy water reactor of Arak.
The opening during Obama’s presidency
During the presidency of Barack Obama an attempt was madeopening in diplomatic relations between the two countries: in 2013for the first time in more than 20 years, there was a telephone conversation between the US president and the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. After great diplomatic work, two years later, in 2015 the nuclear agreement was signed: the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the so-called dei group P5+1: China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States, plus the European Union. According to the agreement, in exchange for the lifting of the harsh economic sanctions imposed on the country, Iran would limited nuclear activities for 15 years and would have allowed the entry of international inspectors of theIAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) for inspection and monitoring activities.
Donald Trump’s first term and the Biden administration
The agreement lasted until 2018when newly elected President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from JCPOAaccusing Iran of continuing to carry out enriched uranium storage activities. From that moment on, a period of strong tensions between the two countries, with the reinstatement of international sanctions, to limit Iranian oil exports and destabilize the country’s economy. This led to numerous retaliation and attacks by Iran to US oil assets in the Persian Gulf and other US targets in the region. With theBiden administration the possibility of a resumption of talks regarding the Iranian nuclear issue was glimpsed, but in fact no progress was recorded in this direction.
Donald Trump’s second term and foreign policy against Iran
With Trump’s second mandate, relations with Iran have become even more tense, with increasingly harsh economic sanctions and military support for neighboring countries, such as Israelto support attacks against Iranian targets, including nuclear sites, such as the June 2025, in which the Natanz sites were hit, where the turbines for enriching uranium and transforming it into nuclear fuel are located, the experimental nuclear reactor of Arak and the city of Isfahan. In this unstable context, President Trump is currently considering thehypothesis of a military attack against Iran if the brutal repression of recent days continues.
