Did you know Iran and Israel were once strategic allies? Read what transformed the alliance into a battle for survival

Once strategic partners in the volatile Middle East, Iran and Israel today sit on opposite ends of one of the region’s most dangerous confrontations. What began as a pragmatic partnership in the early days of Israeli statehood has now devolved into direct military clashes, proxy wars, and threats of mutual annihilation. The most recent escalation: Israel’s June 13 strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, and Tehran’s ballistic missile retaliation has brought decades of shadow conflict into open warfare, with terrifying implications for the region and beyond.

The latest flashpoint: Iran’s nuclear ambitions

On the morning of June 13, Israel launched a wide-scale military operation targeting Iran’s critical Natanz underground nuclear facility, multiple Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bases, and key air defense installations. The airstrikes reportedly killed several nuclear scientists and senior IRGC commanders. Israel justified the operation as a preemptive strike to cripple Iran’s allegedly advancing nuclear weapons program, which Tel Aviv has long seen as an existential threat.

Iran, meanwhile, denounced the attacks as a “massacre” that included civilian casualties and vowed swift retaliation. By evening, Iran fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israeli air bases, targeting refueling stations for warplanes and damaging parts of central Tel Aviv, including areas close to the headquarters of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Despite Israel’s advanced Iron Dome defense system, some missiles penetrated, shaking public confidence in Israel’s invincibility.

The conflict, now entering its fifth day, has shown no signs of de-escalation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly declared that the war could only end with the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — rhetoric that has shocked global observers and left the region on edge.

Once allies: The forgotten era of Iran-Israel cooperation

The current hostility is a far cry from the diplomatic warmth of the 1950s and 60s. In 1948, as most Muslim-majority nations rejected the formation of Israel, Shia-majority Iran and Turkey stood apart, choosing recognition over rejection. Under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran leaned heavily into a pro-Western, anti-Soviet alignment, a position that brought it closer to both the United States and Israel.

The 1950s and 60s saw extensive cooperation between Iran and Israel:

• Crude oil pipelines and energy trade sustained Israel’s economy after the Arab oil embargoes.
• Arms and intelligence exchanges flourished. Israel’s Mossad and Iran’s infamous SAVAK (secret police) worked closely to counter Arab nationalism and Soviet influence.
• The Shah’s Iran was one of the few Muslim nations with a resident Israeli diplomatic mission, and Israeli firms contributed to Iran’s infrastructure and agricultural development.

This period of covert friendship culminated in David Ben Gurion’s “Periphery Doctrine”, which sought alliances with non-Arab regional powers — Iran, Turkey, and Ethiopia — to isolate hostile Arab neighbors.

1979: The “Revolution” that changed everything

Everything changed in 1979.

The Islamic Revolution overthrew the Shah and replaced his pro-Western regime with a radical theocracy under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The revolutionaries saw Israel not just as an occupying power in Palestine but as a “Little Satan”, a close ally of the “Great Satan” — the United States. The regime banned Israeli travel, severed diplomatic ties, and declared total solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

Iran’s foreign policy was reoriented around Islamic anti-Zionism and asymmetric warfare. By the 1980s, Iran began sponsoring Hezbollah in Lebanon, supplying them with training, funds, and weapons to wage a guerrilla war against Israel. This was followed by support for Hamas in Gaza, Islamic Jihad, and even the Houthis in Yemen — all part of a growing “Axis of Resistance” aimed at encircling Israel.

From proxy battles to open hostilities

For decades, Israel and Iran fought in the shadows:

• Hezbollah’s 1983 suicide bombing in Beirut killed dozens of Israeli and Western personnel.
• Israel retaliated with assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, cyber-attacks like Stuxnet, and precision airstrikes on Iranian arms convoys in Syria.
• Iran responded with attacks on Israeli diplomats, cyber intrusions, and rocket strikes via Hezbollah and Hamas.

By 2023, the rivalry reached new heights. On October 7, Hamas launched a massive terror assault on Israel, prompting a brutal Israeli response in Gaza that decimated much of the Hamas leadership. Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Syria also engaged Israeli forces, prompting Tel Aviv to respond with airstrikes deeper into Iranian territory and its foreign bases.

Iran’s direct missile attacks on Israel last year marked the end of the era of indirect conflict. For the first time in decades, Iran and Israel were engaging each other head-on — no longer via proxies but with each other’s capitals in the crosshairs.

The current crisis: Diplomatic collapse and spiraling war

The latest Israeli strikes — particularly on Natanz, long seen as the crown jewel of Iran’s nuclear program — came just as Iran and the U.S. were preparing for renewed talks over uranium enrichment. Iran insists its program is peaceful; Israel views any enrichment as a red line. Tel Aviv reportedly believed that Iran was weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon, and decided it was time to act.

Iran’s response — launching ballistic missiles at Israeli cities — shattered illusions of containment.

Global reaction has been swift but largely ineffective. Western powers have urged restraint but are split on whom to blame. Arab states, many of which have normalized ties with Israel in recent years, have been conspicuously silent or cautiously neutral.

Looking Ahead: No way back?

The current crisis may be the most dangerous flashpoint in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq War. With Israel openly seeking the elimination of Iran’s Supreme Leader and Iran vowing revenge, diplomacy is at a standstill. The conflict risks dragging in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and even global superpowers if it continues to spiral.

The irony is bitter: once strategic partners, Iran and Israel are now locked in a battle that could reshape the Middle East forever.

As history shows, alliances in this region are fragile, and enmity can be just as enduring. But with missiles flying, nuclear facilities under attack, and rhetoric crossing lines once unthinkable, the question isn’t whether Iran and Israel can be friends again — but whether either side will survive the war they’ve unleashed.

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