TRUMP'S TEST
US vs Iran tensions explained – from missile attacks to sanctions
TENSIONS between the US and Iran that had been bubbling away for years reached boiling point when Qasem Soleimani was assassinated on January 3.
In furious retaliation, Iran launched rockets on US air bases in Iraq. Here's a rundown on the toxic relationship between the two countries.
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Why are there tensions between Iran and the US?
Tensions between the US and Iran have been steadily developing since the late seventies, but the death of General Qasem Soleimani has potentially pushed the countries to the brink of war.
In 1979, Iran's US-backed Shah was overthrown and the country became an Islamic republic.
That year dozens of Americans were taken hostage inside the US embassy in Tehran, the country's capital, during the fallout from the revolution.
Since then, the relationship between the two nations has been strained.
Iran announced that it would be stepping out of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in July 2018, labelling it as "horrible" and "one-sided" which left them to be "held hostage to nuclear blackmail".
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When was Qasem Soleimani assassinated and how did Iran retaliate?
General Qasem Soleimani was killed at Baghdad airport by a US air strike, personally approved by Donald Trump.
Two missiles fired from a MQ9 Reaper drone struck Soleimani after he disembarked from an aircraft at Baghdad airport.
The Pentagon justified the assassination, saying General Soleimani was "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region".
The drone strike came days after protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad, clashing with US forces at the scene.
The Pentagon said Soleimani approved the attacks on the embassy.
Minutes before the statement President Trump tweeted a US flag without comment followed by more tweets including one that read: "Iran has never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!"
What is the history of tensions between the US and Iran?
- Before the 1979 Iranian revolution, Iran was one of America's biggest allies in the Middle East and was led by the US-backed Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.
- However, since the seismic revolt, Iran has been led by murderous Islamic fundamentalists and tensions with Washington have remained ever since.
- On November 4, 1979, the Iranian regime took 52 US diplomats hostage in response to President Carter’s administration allowing Iran’s deposed former leader into America.
- The hostage crisis lasted for 444 days and also included a failed rescue mission which cost the lives of eight US soldiers.
- In April 1980, the US ended diplomatic relations with Iran – a break which lasted for more than 30 years.
- In April 1983, Washington blamed the Iranian-funded terror group Hezbollah for carrying out a bombing attack on the American embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
- The assault, carried out amid a brutal civil war in Lebanon, killed 17 Americans.
- In November of that year, two truck bombs in Beruit killed 241 US peace keepers. The US again blamed Hezbollah for the incident.
- The Clinton White House, in 1995, placed a total embargo on Iran meaning US companies could not trade with the country.
- In 2002, George W Bush included the Islamic Republic in his famous “Axis of evil” speech along with North Korea and Iraq.
- In May 2019, the US claimed Iran used explosives to blow huge holes in four ships - including two Saudi oil tankers - anchored in the Persian Gulf in May 2019.
- On June 13, 2019, the US said that Iran was behind the "torpedo attack" on its American-linked oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
- On January 3, 2020 Iran's top military commander, General Qasem Soleimani, was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq.
What was the nuclear deal?
In 2015, preliminary framework agreement between Iran and a group of world powers was set.
The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - US, UK, Russia, France, China - plus Germany and the European Union called for the deal.
Negotiations for a framework deal over the nuclear programme of Iran took place between the foreign ministers of the countries at a series of meetings held from March 26 to April 2, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Accordng to the joint statement in Switzerland, the countries and Iran agreed that Iran would redesign, convert and reduce its nuclear facilities and accept the Additional Protocol in order to lift all nuclear-related economic sanctions, freeing up tens of billions of dollars in oil revenue and frozen assets.
Many international observers believe the attack was an act of "revenge" by Iran after the White House imposed crippling economic sanctions after Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal.
In May 2019 Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement which he called a "horrible, one-sided deal", saying it did not address Iran's ballistic missile activities and check in its regional behaviour.
He also threatened to hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account.
MORE ON SOLEIMANI
What are the US sanctions against Iran?
The United States has a long history of sanctions against Iran.
They have been implemented in response to actions by the Iranian Government dating back to the late seventies.
Iran has been accused of supporting terrorism and extremism and pursuing nuclear weapons.
The US says the country supports Governments of countries considered enemies to America, like Syria.
It also argues that Iran supports groups who are enemies of its allies, including Hamas.
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