How Israel and Iran’s conflict went from covert to all-out fighting
Israel and Iran are engaged in their most sustained, direct fighting ever, as the strikes between the two regional powers raise fears that the conflict could spread.
The two sides have been enemies for decades - within days of the Iranian revolution of 1979, Tehran broke off diplomatic ties with Israel. Later the same year, Islamist students stormed and occupied the US Embassy, sparking a hostage crisis that lasted 444 days; the United States and Iran ended relations the following year.
In the years that followed, Iran has called Israel “Little Satan” (with the United States being “Great Satan”) and expressed support for the destruction of Israel.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Although both sides have publicly criticised each other for years, the sharper, more violent conflict between Israel and Iran was mostly covert, with Iran supporting proxy groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, against Israel, while Israel was blamed for several targeted assassinations, blasts, and a cyber attack aimed at slowing Iran’s nuclear program.
The Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and the ensuing start of Israel’s war in Gaza have pitted Iran and its regional proxies against Israel in a much more open confrontation.
Here’s a quick timeline of the conflict between the two rivals.
2010: Cyber attack hits Iran
The world learns about a damaging cyber attack against Iran’s nuclear program that began many months earlier. The cyber weapon, dubbed Stuxnet by outside analysts, destroyed more than 10 percent of the centrifuges used to enrich uranium at Iran’s Natanz site - but the machines were quickly replaced, The Washington Post reported.
Current and former US officials later told The Post that the cyber weapon was the work of US and Israeli experts, and proceeded under secret orders from President Barack Obama.
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July 2015: Iran signs nuclear deal
The US and key global players sign a landmark agreement with Tehran, which limits Iran’s nuclear capability in exchange for lifting international sanctions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes the deal as “a bad mistake of historic proportions.”
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April 2018: Israel says Iran lied
In a televised speech, Mr Netanyahu says Israel has obtained tens of thousands of documents that prove that Iran lied about the history of its nuclear weapons program when it signed the 2015 nuclear agreement.
The stolen documents contained no proof that Iran had violated the nuclear accord, The Post reported later in 2018.
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May 2018: US withdraws from deal
US President Donald Trump announces the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
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August 2019: Attacks target Iranian allies
Attacks involving warplanes or drones, blamed on Israel, target Iranian-allied forces in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Israel only confirms it was behind one of the attacks, but the country has previously launched attacks against Iran and its proxies, including in Syria.
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November 2020: Nuclear scientist killed
One of Iran’s most prominent Iranian nuclear scientists, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, is killed in an ambush outside Tehran. Iran’s foreign minister blames Israel for the attack.
Iran previously blamed Israel for the deaths of other Iranian scientists, including four affiliated with Iran’s nuclear program who were killed in incidents between 2010 and 2012.
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April 2021: Nuclear facility suffers blackout
An Iranian-flagged ship is hit by an explosion in the Red Sea, just as US, Iranian and European negotiators are preparing to hold talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, and amid reports of other attacks on ships, blamed on Israel or Iran.
Days later, an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility causes a blackout that damages centrifuges there. Iranian officials blame Israel for the attack, which took place hours after the facility began operating new advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium more quickly.
Tehran responds by announcing it will begin enriching uranium to 60 percent at Natanz, putting the country closer to weapons-grade levels of more than 90 percent enrichment.
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May 2022: Iranian colonel shot dead
Unidentified gunmen shoot dead a senior member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, outside his home in Tehran. The Associated Press reports that the incident bears “the hallmarks of previous deadly shooting attacks in Iran blamed on Israel.”
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October 2023: Hamas attacks Israel; war in Gaza begins
Within days of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, denies any Iranian involvement in the attacks. Current and former Western and Middle Eastern intelligence officials tell The Post that while Tehran’s precise role in the attack is unclear, Iran has provided Hamas with military training, logistical help and financial support for years.
Iranian-backed proxies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis, pledge attacks against Israel in response to the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel appears to increase its attacks on Iranian targets and proxies across the region, including killing an Iranian general in Syria in December 2023.
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April 2024: Israel and Iran trade strikes
Two senior members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike on a building next to the Iranian Embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Iran responds almost two weeks later by firing a wave of missiles and drones toward Israel. Israel later carries out a strike inside Iran, which appears to hit a radar system of a Russian-made air defense battery.
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July 31, 2024: Israel kills Haniyeh in Tehran
Israel kills Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a strike in Tehran, though Israel’s defense minister confirms his country’s role in the assassination only months later.
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Sept. 27, 2024: Israel kills Hezbollah’s leader
Israel kills Hasan Nasrallah - the leader of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed political and militant group Hezbollah, and Tehran’s staunchest and most trusted Arab ally - in a strike in Beirut. The attack comes amid a deadly Israeli offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which included airstrikes and an attack involving exploding electronic devices.
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Oct. 1, 2024: Iran fires missiles at Israel
Iran fires about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military; Tehran says the attack was in retaliation for Nasrallah’s killing.
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Oct. 26, 2024: Israel strikes Iranian targets
Continuing the tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries, Israel carries out strikes against Iranian military targets. Iran’s Fars News Agency reports that the targets included “a number of military bases” in the west, south and in Tehran. An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified plans, said the attacks would not hit Iran’s oil production or nuclear facilities.
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April/May 2025: Trump announces nuclear talks with Iran
Mr Trump appears to repeatedly bypass Israel, including by announcing nuclear talks with Iran and making a truce with Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
In late May, Mr Trump says he cautioned Mr Netanyahu against striking Iran amid the talks with Tehran.
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June 2025: Israel and Iran launch major missile attacks
Israel launches attacks on Iranian nuclear and military targets, killing senior military figures and nuclear scientists.
Tehran responds with missile attacks, and the two countries continue to exchange fire over the following days, with Israel expanding its targets to include energy facilities and manufacturing plants in Iran.
Mr Trump appears to blame Iran for the conflict and openly considers joining the Israeli campaign.
The escalation comes after a year of major setbacks for Iran, including the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a key ally in Syria, and as Hezbollah reels from direct Israeli attacks in Lebanon and the loss of many of its leaders.
Iran says the Israeli attacks have killed at least 224 people, but the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a Washington-based rights group that monitors Iran, says the death toll is above 600. Israel says at least 24 people have been killed by Iran’s strikes.
© 2025 , The Washington Post
