War in Iran 8 years in the making

The United States and Israel have launched military strikes on Iran; according to media reports citing the Red Crescent, at least 201 people have been killed across 24 provinces.

Obama’s administration

In 2013, during former US President Barack Obama’s administration, formal negotiations began with the adoption of an interim agreement between Iran and the P5+1 (China, Russia, Germany, France, the UK, and the USA). This process eventually led to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the “Iran nuclear deal.”

The agreement aimed to limit the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and was finalized in Vienna on July 14, 2015. The negotiations spanned 20 months; by April 2015, a framework was reached that established the JCPOA and a “roadmap” agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As part of the deal, Iran agreed to regular IAEA inspections and oversight.

The Trump Administration

In 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term, the United States withdrew from the pact and imposed heavy sanctions under a “maximum pressure” campaign. This withdrawal is widely cited as the catalyst for current tensions. Trump frequently criticized the agreement, famously calling it “the worst deal ever negotiated.”

Key events leading to the withdrawal included:

• March 5, 2018: Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in the Oval Office to discuss the JCPOA. Netanyahu urged Trump to either “fix it or nix it.”
• April 30, 2018: Netanyahu delivered a televised speech in English specifically aimed at a Washington audience. He claimed to reveal a massive trove of documents stolen by Mossad from a warehouse in Tehran. He declared that “Iran lied, big time,” and asserted that the documents proved Iran had maintained a secret nuclear weapons program called “Project Amad.”

Just eight days after Netanyahu’s presentation, Trump officially announced the U.S. withdrawal from the deal. Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate him, calling it a “bold and correct decision.”

Escalation

In response, Iran has retaliated by targeting Israeli and U.S. assets throughout the Middle East, including locations in Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.