When the 'Shadow War' Ends; A Review of Decades of Hostility Between the Islamic Republic and Israel

The attack early on Friday, April 21, on Iran is the latest instance of escalating tensions between the Islamic Republic and Israel. Reuters reported on Friday, detailing the history of this decades-long enmity. While these attacks are part of a broader escalation of tensions since the onset of the Hamas-Israel war last year, the animosity between the two countries dates back decades and has continued in the shadows during this time. 1979 - Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who considered Israel an ally, was ousted from power with the Islamic Revolution, and a new theocratic regime that viewed opposition to Israel as an 'ideological necessity' came to power. 1982 - Israel invades Lebanon, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps collaborates with Shia Muslims there to establish 'Hezbollah.' This group ultimately becomes the most dangerous enemy at Israel's borders. 1983 - Hezbollah, supported by the Islamic Republic, resorts to suicide bombings to drive Western and Israeli forces out of Lebanon. In November of that year, a vehicle filled with explosives entered an Israeli army headquarters. Israel later withdrew from many areas of Lebanon. 1992-1994 - Argentina and Israel accused the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah of the suicide bombings at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and at the 'AMIA Jewish Community Center' in the city in 1994. Each of these attacks left dozens dead. The Islamic Republic and Hezbollah denied responsibility for these accusations. 2002 - The revelation of the Islamic Republic's secret uranium enrichment program heightened concerns about efforts to build nuclear weapons, prompting Israel to call for 'severe action' against the Iranian government. 2006 - Israel entered a month-long war with Hezbollah in Lebanon but failed to eliminate this Islamic Republic-backed militia. 2009 - Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, described Israel as a 'dangerous and deadly cancerous tumor' in a speech. 2010 - The 'Stuxnet' computer virus, believed by many to have been designed by the U.S. and Israel, was used to attack uranium enrichment facilities at the Natanz nuclear site. This was the first public cyberattack on industrial machinery. 2011 - A nuclear scientist named Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed in Tehran by a bomb placed on his car by a motorcyclist. Iranian officials blamed Israel for this attack. 2018 - Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, praised Donald Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal, calling it a 'historic action.' In May of that year, Israel targeted the military infrastructure of the Islamic Republic in Syria in response to a rocket attack by Iranian forces on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights. 2019 - Israel welcomed the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad that resulted in the death of Qassem Soleimani. The Islamic Republic responded with missile attacks on bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. Reports indicated that around 100 U.S. military personnel were injured in that attack. 2020 - The Islamic Republic blamed Israel for the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, referred to as the 'brain' behind Iran's secret program to develop nuclear capabilities. 2021 - Joe Biden, the U.S. President, and Yair Lapid, the then Israeli Prime Minister, signed a joint commitment to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons. This agreement was somewhat a display of unity between two countries that had long disagreed on diplomatic approaches to the Islamic Republic. Before this action, referred to as the 'Jerusalem Declaration,' Biden stated in an interview with an Israeli television network that the use of force to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons was 'the last resort.' This statement aligned with Israel's repeated calls for a 'credible military threat' from world powers against Iran. 2023 - In an Israeli airstrike on the premises of the Islamic Republic's consulate in Damascus, seven senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two senior commanders, were killed. Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for this attack. 2023 - The Islamic Republic responded with an unprecedented direct attack on Israeli territory on April 14. Informed sources say this prompted Israel to attack Iranian territory on April 21. Significant costs for the regime's anti-Israel ideology without the approval of the Iranian people. A video from the Israeli army shows an Iranian ballistic missile found in the Dead Sea. Exclusive: Interviews with the Iranian people about the war between Israel and Hamas; what cannot be published in domestic media. Reuters: Western countries have messaged the Islamic Republic through Turkey with the aim of 'de-escalation.' Reuters: The Islamic Republic does not intend to retaliate for the attack attributed to Israel. The International Atomic Energy Agency: No damage has been inflicted on nuclear sites in Iran. The Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic has impacted oil prices and cryptocurrencies. Sounds of several explosions in Isfahan, Iraq, and Syria; ABC: A senior U.S. official confirmed the Israeli attack on Iran. Unequal confrontation; Reuters' analytical report on the air power of the Islamic Republic and Israel amid concerns of prolonged conflict in the region.