The close ties that once existed between Israel and Iran have been left behind for decades. In fact, the latter was the second country – after the United States – to recognize the Jewish State, in 1960. Today, on the contrary, there are moments of tension between both countries that have led to the drone attack launched by Tehran in the night of Saturday, April 13 towards Israeli territory.
From Jerusalem they have been pointing out for several years the danger posed by Iran due to the enrichment of uranium through its nuclear program and, in addition, they have criticized the support provided from Tehran to Islamic organizations such as the Lebanese group Hezbollah or the Palestinian movement Hamas.
The recent escalation occurs in response, according to Iran, to Israel’s April 1, 2024 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, capital of Syria, where seven members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed, including the leader of its Quds Force branch. Syria and Lebanon, Brigadier General Mohamed Reza Zahedi. Days earlier, Iran had destroyed an alleged Israeli spy center in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The history of the conflict between Israel and Iran
After the arrival of the new ayatollah regime in 1979 with the triumph of the Islamic revolution, Iran opted for a break in relations and converted the Israeli embassy in Tehran into the diplomatic headquarters of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
They have had incipient rapprochements, including the sale of weapons by Israel to Iran during the war it had with Iraq between 1980 and 1988, but since the arrival to power in Iran of the ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013) the disagreements have not ceased. .
Already on December 31, 1999, Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran, exposed the destruction of the State of Israel as the only solution to end the suffering of the Palestinian people and achieve peace in the Middle East.
Crossing of accusations
Along the same lines, Ahmadinejad, in October 2005, stated during a public event that Israel should “be wiped off the map” and a little over a month later he suggested moving the Israeli State to Europe or the United States.
In October 2009, the first official contact between the two nations since 1979 occurred during a secret forum on nuclear weapons in Egypt, but mutual accusations and warnings soon returned.
The arrival of Hassan Rohani (2013-2021) to power in Iran did not calm the waters, and in his first year as president he compared Israel to “a wound in the Islamic body that must be eliminated.”
The current Israeli Prime Minister, the conservative Benjamin Netanyahu, has not remained silent. In 2015, in a historic speech before the US Congress, he denounced that the Jewish people are suffering “another attempt at destruction” by Iran and that same year he rejected the nuclear agreement reached in Vienna between Tehran and the Group. 5+1.
The growth of hostilities
On February 9, 2018, Israel shot down an Iranian drone in its airspace and shortly afterwards attacked the facilities from which it was controlled, near the Syrian city of Palmyra.
In 2019, Israeli attacks continued in Syrian territory against pro-Iranian military targets, including one on November 20 that caused around twenty deaths.
The 2020 assassination of scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi, considered the father of the Iranian nuclear program, caused Tehran to once again target Israel and threaten its destruction, after which mutual accusations of attacks on ships, energy infrastructure and facilities have continued. military.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a protest against Israel, October 2023, in Tehran.
Nothing changed with the arrival of Ebrahim Raisi to the Presidency of Iran, as the leader has already warned that any threat to the security of his country will result in the “destruction of Haifa and Tel Aviv.”
On October 25, 2023, Israel accused Tehran of having “directly” helped the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas carry out the October 7 attack against Israel, which left thousands dead and more than 200 kidnapped.
BY: The Times Union