On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran. In Operation Epic Fury’s first 72hours, United States Central Command reported that over 1,700 targets had been struck in the most significant US military operation in the Middle East since the Iraq war.

As the war enters its fourth week, it is clear that Iran’s military capabilities have been significantly weakened, and many of Iran’s most senior military, intelligence and security leaders – including Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – have been killed. Yet, so far, there have been no major defections from either Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (the IRGC) or from Iran’s Army (known as the Artesh). Iran’s missile and drone attacks across the region have also continued and its proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, may increasingly attempt to mobilise in Iran’s defence.

It is too early for predictions that Iran’s theocratic regime is on the verge of surrender. Instead, let’s pause and look back at the history of US-Iran relations. That context is important for not only understanding how we got to this point but it’s also useful for thinking about how things may play out in the coming weeks and months.

The history of US-Iran relations since World War II is extraordinarily complex and tumultuous. But there are events that, in important practical and symbolic ways, capture the broad trendlines that have characterised different phases in that relationship. So, here are four milestones in the history of US-Iran Relations that can help us to better understand the present.

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