Iran launched a missile strike on U.S. airbases in Iraq on Tuesday night. But that's just the latest incident in a long, complicated history between the U.S. and Iran.
In 1953, the U.S. and Britain backed a coup against the democratically-elected prime minister of Iran.
In 1979 was the Iranian Revolution, when the U.S.-supported Shah was removed from power. That year, there was a hostage crisis when a mob of students stormed the U.S. embassy and held dozens of American diplomats and citizens for 444 days.
In 1980, the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Iran. That same year, the Iran-Iraq war began – and the U.S. backed the Iraqis. In 1984, the U.S. designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.
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In 1988, the U.S. military shot down Iran Air Flight 655 – a commercial jet – killing 290 people on board. American leaders said the plane was mistaken for an F-14 jet.
In 1990, the U.S. went to war with Iraq, Iran's biggest rival.
In 2002, President George W. Bush said Iran was in the "axis of evil" with North Korea and Iraq. During that time, sanctions – which have been in place since 1979 – continued to increase as Iran moved forward with its plan to develop a nuclear program.
In 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq and defeated Saddam Hussein, removing Iran's biggest regional rival. From 2003 to 2011, Iran – under Qassem Soleimani's direction – ran anti-U.S. insurgency efforts in Iraq.
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In 2015, the U.S. and other nations reached a deal with Iran to roll back sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear activities and allowing international inspections. In May 2018, President Donald Trump removed the U.S. from that deal.
In 2019, Iran attacked oil tankers in the Persian Gulf – and denied it. In June, Iran shot down an American drone, which they said was in their airspace. In the fall, Iranian-aligned Iraqi militias attacked American bases. In late December, American troops were hurt and a U.S. contractor was killed in one of those attacks.
And last week, President Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani. Then Tuesday, Iran launched a missile strike on U.S. airbases in Iraq.
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