Once allies, now archrivals: The fallout between Iran and Israel

Since the launch of Israel's military offensive on Iran, Operation Rising Lion, in the early hours of June 13 amid the former's concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the two countries have exchanged at least four waves of missile and drone strikes on each other. What might be a surprise to an onlooker is well recorded in history that the two nations, now locked in open conflict, were once close allies. Their alliance, forged in the decades before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, was built on shared strategic interests, deep military cooperation, and strong economic ties.advertisementThe present-day hostilities escalated dramatically with a coordinated Israeli strike reportedly modelled on Ukraine's June 1 Operation Spider's Web, Israel seemingly used camouflaged weapon platforms hidden in civilian vehicles in Iran, which it remotely activated to disable Iran's air defences to provide a clear path for Israeli air strikes.Israel hit key infrastructure and defence sites in Iran, killing several top Iranian generals, and reportedly two senior nuclear scientists as well.
In response, Iran launched ballistic missiles and drones at Tel Aviv and Haifa cities, some of which breached Israel's Iron Dome air defence, causing damage to civilian infrastructure along with dozens of civilian casualties.As per a Reuters report, the expression "Rising Lion" is taken from verse 23:24 of the Book of Numbers in the Bible. The verse says, "Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain."advertisementNotably, this is also the first time that Israel has launched a full-scale offensive on Iran, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing in a speech soon after the attacks, 'This operation will continue for as many days as it takes"Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has also pledged a "bitter and painful" retaliation against Israel.Yet behind the current warfare lies a forgotten chapter of being closer allies, when Tehran and Tel Aviv worked hand in hand across sectors, united by regional threats and geopolitical interests.ISRAEL-IRAN WERE NOT ALWAYS ADVERSARIESThough Israel and Iran have been adversaries since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, they were once close allies, sharing strong military and economic ties, united against a common enemy.In fact, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country, after Turkey, to recognise Israel after it was formed in 1948.So how did it begin?Following World War II and a wave of decolonialisation, in which colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence from European empires, the world powers had the Palestine question to answer.When the UN proposed the Partition Plan for the British Mandate of Palestine in 1947, Iran was among the 13 countries that voted against it. In 1949 again, Iran reiterated its stance and voted against Israel's entry into the UN as a member.advertisementHowever, practical geopolitical and strategic interests soon led to a covert relationship between Iran and Israel. Yet, in public, Iran declined to recognise Israel till 1950.Interestingly, back then, Iran housed the largest Jewish population in West Asia.THE RETURN OF THE SHAH: A MULTIFACETED ALLIANCEThe return of the Shah's rule in Iran, following an alleged CIA-engineered coup in 1953, marked a turning point in Iran-Israel relations.Under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iran and Israel forged a multifaceted alliance.The Pahlavi regime viewed Israel as a natural ally, particularly because of common adversaries such as Egypt, then under Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the Iraqi Republic, then ruled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.The alliance saw economic, military, and intelligence cooperation between Iran and Israel. They also developed a close relationship over shared interests in keeping the Communist USSR out of West Asia, as both were backed by the capitalist USA.In Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion's concept of alliance of the periphery, a foreign policy strategy developed by Israel in the 1950s and 1960s, aimed at countering hostility from neighbouring Arab countries by building alliances with non-Arab states and minority groups on the periphery of West Asia, Iran found a friendly place.advertisementAround that time, the young Jewish state sourced 40% of its oil from Iran, trading in return weapons, technology, and agricultural goods.Oil from Iran was critical of Israel's industrial and military needs, as hostile Arab nations had put an oil embargo on the Jewish state. The Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company, established in 1968, was a key joint project that allowed Iranian oil to be transported to Israel, bypassing the Suez Canal under the Egyptians.In return, Israel provided Iran with modern military equipment to fight its war against Iraq in the 1980s. The Iranians even imported advanced missile systems, M-40 antitank guns, Uzi submachine guns and aircraft engines from Israel. The Shah of Iran even admired Israel because of its military success against its neighbours.Then came Project Flower, which was an Israeli-Iranian venture to jointly develop advanced missile systems.Notably, the secret police of Pahlavi Iran, SAVAK, was created in 1957 with the assistance of the CIA and Mossad.Even culturally, the Pahlavi dynasty promoted a narrative that stressed Iran's pre-Islamic past and its distinctiveness from Arab culture. This helped the Iranian regime to justify its affinity with Israel.advertisementTHE DECLINE OF IRAN-ISRAEL RELATIONSThe Iranian Revolution of 1979, which pushed the Pahlavi dynasty out of power, leading to the establishment of an Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, turned Iran's foreign policy and worldview upside down. However, in the initial years, Iran and Israel still continued with their ties.Both Israel and Iran saw it in their interests to counter the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. Iraq was part of three of the four Arab wars against Israel.During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, Israel reportedly sold arms worth $500 million annually to Iran. To facilitate these deals, Israel even established Swiss bank accounts, Time magazine noted.In the 1980s, Iran had a divided military structure. The regular army, known as the Artesh, was a holdover from the Shah's era and was seen as more traditional and professional. Alongside it, the newly-established Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) emerged as a parallel force that was ideologically driven and directly loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini.The Israeli brass in Jerusalem was hopeful that the arms supply would keep the regular Iranian military happy and topple the fledgling regime of the Ayatollah.The covert ties continued for some time even after the Iran-Iraq war, but got worse with time.advertisementIran, now a theocratic state, saw Israel as an occupier of Palestinian land. Iran even labelled Israel as "Little Satan", while the US was called the "Great Satan".Shia Iran wanted to be the power centre of West Asia, and started challenging Saudi Arabia, the Mecca of Sunni Islam. It also saw both Israel and the US as interfering in regional affairs.The new Iranian government severed all diplomatic ties with Israel, and the country began to support Palestinian and other anti-Israel movements actively.It was in this period that Iran started supporting Shia Lebanese elements, which later took the shape of Hezbollah.ALL-OUT ANIMOSITY POST-GULF WARThe end of the Gulf War in 1991 marked the start of open hostility between Iran and Israel. With the Soviet Union's collapse and the US emerging as the sole superpower, regional divisions deepened, placing Iran and Israel on opposing sides of nearly every major geopolitical issue.Iran's nuclear programme, launched in the 1980s, became a flashpoint in the 1990s. It's also the main reason for the current escalation.Israel, backed by the US and Western allies, demanded Tehran abandon its ambitions, viewing them as a threat to global security. To them, Iran, under the radical leadership of first Ruhollah Khomeini and later Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was a growing menace.The rivalry soon spilt into covert operations, public threats, and proxy conflicts.It is important to note that throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Iran, as part of its anti-Israel strategy, waged proxy wars against Israel through non-state militant groups such as Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and the Houthis.Over the years, Israel responded to these threats by carrying out targeted assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and top military commanders.Over the decades, Israel has also conducted repeated military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and numerous military targets in Syria, with the key objective of preventing Iran from re-establishing its strategic foothold in the region.With the latest escalation being the first time that Israel has launched an indefinite military offensive against Iran with an official declaration by the prime minister, the situation in West Asia may blow up into a prolonged regional war between two former allies turned archrivals.

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