This dyad belongs to the conflict Iran - Israel
Summary of conflict Iran - Israel
Ever since the end of the Iranian revolution in 1979, diplomatic relations between Iran and Israel have been strained. The rhetoric of the destruction of Israel used by Iranian representatives and the veracity of the rhetoric has been subject to controversy. In 2014, however, Ali Khamenei, the then supreme leader of Iran, called for armed resistance against Israel, with the ultimate goal of eliminating the Israeli regime. On the other hand, Israel has repeatedly voiced concern over the nuclear ambitions of Iran and has been engaged in fighting Iranian-backed Hezbollah for decades.
In 2025, the interstate conflict between the Government of Iran and the Government of Israel escalated into direct interstate warfare in June, during the so-called Twelve Day War. Israel carried out extensive strikes against military and nuclear targets in Iran, while Iran launched large-scale missile and drone attacks against Israel. The fighting ended with a ceasefire on 24 June, but tensions between the two countries remained high throughout the remainder of the year.
The United States maintained its role as a secondary warring party to Israel.
Conflict since 2018
In 2018, Israel carried out targeted strikes against Hezbollah in Syria and against Iranian positions operated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Syria. These positions, mainly weapon depots and air-defense systems, were located in several Syrian governorates. This signified a change from combating Iran's proxy to targeting Iranian troops directly. As a result, the interstate conflict between the Government of Iran and the Government of Israel became active for the first time in the UCDP data.
Since then, the conflict has remained active as Israel hit Iranian posts in Syria through both missile attacks and airstrikes. The primary targets of the Israeli forces were weapon and ammunition depots of the Iranian forces as well as intelligence centers affiliated with them.
In 2020, the United States acted as a secondary warring party to Israel in the conflict after outrage over the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) support for proxy militias that conducted attacks on Israel and the US presence in the Middle East. Allegedly as a response to those Iranian activities, the United States killed the IRGC general Qasem Soleimani, one of the most influential figures in Iran, during a visit to Iraq. During the tensions that followed this and the Iranian shelling of US military bases in Iraq, Iranian soldiers mistakenly shot down a passenger plane outside Tehran they thought was a US cruise missile, killing all 176 people on board.
12 April 2024 is noteworthy in that it marked the first time Iran struck Israeli territory from Iranian soil by conducting the largest drone strike in history at the time. Although there were no fatalities, the attack was seen as a possible trigger for a wider conflict. Israel retaliated by executing limited airstrikes against an Iranian air defense facility. No casualties were reported here either. The conflict has continuously stayed active since 2018.
In 2025, the interstate conflict between the Government of Iran and the Government of Israel escalated into direct interstate warfare in June, during the so-called Twelve Day War. Israel carried out extensive strikes against military and nuclear targets in Iran, while Iran launched large-scale missile and drone attacks against Israel. The fighting ended with a ceasefire on 24 June, but tensions between the two countries remained high throughout the remainder of the year.
In 2025, the United States maintained its role as a secondary warring party to Israel.
