IRAN - ISRAEL CONFLICT EXPLAINED

As there is an ongoing war between Iran and Israel, and the situation is rapidly changing following U.S. involvement, several important questions arise.
The most crucial among them are:

• What is the historical background of their conflict?

Let's find out the answers and put an end to your curiosity..

-What is the historical background of their conflict?

     In 1914, during World War I, France, Russia, Britain, and Italy were on one side, while Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire were on the other. The British, aiming to expand their global dominance through their "divide and rule" policy, were aware of the Zionist movement in Germany, in which German Jews were demanding a separate state.

Seizing the opportunity, the British made a strategic move by signing an agreement with the Jewish community, known as the Balfour Declaration. In this declaration, the British promised that if the Jews did not support their own country, Germany, in the war, and instead supported the Allies, Britain would support the establishment of a separate Jewish state in the Ottoman-controlled region after the war. This state was to be called Palestine.

As a result of World War I, Germany was defeated. When Germans began searching for reasons behind their loss, they came to believe that the Jews living in Germany were partly responsible, as some were seen as having supported the enemy—Britain—instead of Germany. This belief led to widespread anger among the German population.

Fueled by this resentment ,Adolf Hitler rose to power and initiated the mass killing of Jews, blaming them for Germany's defeat. This led to the Holocaust, during which millions of Jews were murdered.

Due to these events and the increasing threats to their lives, Jews from around the world began migrating to Palestine, in line with the earlier Balfour Declaration, which had promised a national home for the Jewish people in that region.

However, the Arab Muslims already residing in Palestine opposed the arrival of Jewish immigrants, as they now had to share land and resources. This growing conflict led the United Nations in 1947 to propose a partition of Palestine into two separate states—one for the Jews, called Israel, and the other for the Palestinians.

At the time, Iran refused to recognize Israel as a separate state. However, in 1953, after Turkey, Iran officially recognized Israel. This shift occurred after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi came to power following a coup. The Shah was a pro-American leader, and under his rule, Iran began to adopt Western cultural and political values.

During Shah Pahlavi’s reign, relations between Iran and Israel flourished. Iran supplied oil to Israel, while Israel provided weapons and military support to Iran.

However, many Arabs and Islamists in Iran were opposed to the spread of Western culture and the perceived suppression of their own cultural and religious values. This discontent led to a movement against Shah Pahlavi, which was led by Ruhollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei.

In 1979, following massive protests and public unrest, Khomeini and Khamenei came to power, establishing an Islamic Republic based on an extremist ideology that was strongly anti-American, anti-Israel, and opposed to Western influence.

From that point onward, the relationship between Iran and Israel became deeply hostile, leading to ongoing proxy conflicts across the region. Today, this long-standing hostility has escalated and is contributing to the possibility of a direct war between the two nations.