Why the US and Iran Have Been Enemies for 73 Years

What You'll Discover

How a CIA-backed coup in 1953 planted the seeds of seven decades of conflict

Why the Iranian Revolution shocked American intelligence agencies

The full story of the 444-day hostage crisis and the failed rescue mission

How the Iran-Iraq War created strange alliances that persist today

Why the nuclear deal was signed, then abandoned, and what happened next

Where US-Iran relations stand today and what the military buildup means

Three carrier strike groups in the Persian Gulf. Diplomatic silence from Tehran. To understand how we got here, you have to go back seventy-three years to a decision made in a Washington office that changed the entire Middle East.

In 1953, the CIA and British intelligence orchestrated the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, to protect Western oil interests. That single act set in motion a chain of consequences that produced the Shah’s authoritarian rule, the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the hostage crisis, proxy wars across the Middle East, a nuclear standoff, and the military tensions that define the relationship today.

This feature-length documentary traces every chapter of the US-Iran conflict, from Operation Ajax through the Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, the nuclear negotiations, the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, and the current military buildup. Every chapter connects to the one before it. Every escalation has roots in decisions made decades earlier.

The Detail That Changes Everything

In 1953, the CIA and British intelligence overthrew Iran’s democratically elected prime minister to protect oil interests. Every chapter of hostility since traces back to that single decision.

Historical Context

This story spans 1953-2026 and is centered across Iran and the United States. Understanding the broader historical context of Cold War politics, oil diplomacy, and Middle Eastern power dynamics is essential to grasping why events unfolded as they did.

Key Figures

The central figures in this story include Mohammad Mosaddegh, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Qasem Soleimani. Each played a distinct role in shaping seven decades of conflict.

What This Documentary Covers

How a CIA-backed coup in 1953 planted the seeds of seven decades of conflict
Why the Iranian Revolution shocked American intelligence agencies
The full story of the 444-day hostage crisis and the failed rescue mission
How the Iran-Iraq War created strange alliances that persist today
Why the nuclear deal was signed, then abandoned, and what happened next
Where US-Iran relations stand today and what the military buildup means

Themes Explored

This episode examines interconnected themes including the CIA coup, the Iranian Revolution, the hostage crisis, nuclear diplomacy, proxy warfare, sanctions, and geopolitics. These themes reveal how a single covert operation in 1953 cascaded into the defining geopolitical rivalry of the modern Middle East.

Watch the Full Documentary

This companion article provides context and background for the full documentary. For the complete story with narration, original music, and archival imagery, watch the episode above or on YouTube.

Frequently Asked Questions

The conflict between the United States and Iran traces back to 1953, when the CIA and British intelligence orchestrated Operation Ajax, overthrowing Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh to protect Western oil interests and restore Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power. The Shah's twenty-six years of authoritarian rule, backed by American support and enforced by his secret police, generated deep anti-American sentiment. When the Iranian Revolution brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power in 1979, the hostage crisis cemented mutual hostility. Every chapter since, including the Iran-Iraq War, proxy conflicts across the Middle East, the nuclear standoff, and the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in 2020, connects back to that original 1953 intervention. This documentary traces all seventy-three years of the relationship.

Operation Ajax was a joint CIA and MI6 covert operation executed in August 1953 that overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to the Peacock Throne. Mosaddegh had nationalized Iran's oil industry, threatening the profits of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, today known as BP. The CIA organized street protests, bribed military officers, and coordinated with Iranian royalists to create chaos in Tehran. After an initial failed attempt, a second coup succeeded on August 19, 1953. The Shah ruled for twenty-six more years with American support, using his secret police force SAVAK to suppress dissent. The coup is widely regarded as the original sin of US-Iran relations, and Iranians have never forgotten that a foreign power removed their elected leader to protect oil profits.

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was driven by decades of accumulated grievances against the Shah's authoritarian rule, which was propped up by American support following the 1953 CIA coup. The Shah modernized Iran's economy but suppressed political opposition through SAVAK, his feared secret police force. Economic inequality grew as oil wealth enriched elites while many Iranians remained poor. Religious leaders, leftist intellectuals, and ordinary citizens united against the regime. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, exiled to France, became the revolution's symbolic leader through smuggled cassette tape recordings of his sermons. Mass protests paralyzed the country in late 1978 and the Shah fled Iran in January 1979. Khomeini returned to Tehran on February 1, 1979, and established an Islamic Republic. The revolution shocked American intelligence agencies, who had confidently assessed that the Shah's grip on power was secure.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly called the Iran nuclear deal or JCPOA, was signed in July 2015 by Iran and six world powers: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China. Under the agreement, Iran accepted strict limits on its nuclear enrichment program, reduced its uranium stockpile by ninety-eight percent, allowed intrusive international inspections, and dismantled key nuclear infrastructure. In exchange, the international community lifted economic sanctions that had crippled Iran's economy. President Obama championed the deal as the best available path to preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon. President Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed maximum pressure sanctions, arguing that the deal did not address Iran's missile program or regional activities. Iran subsequently resumed enrichment beyond the deal's limits.