Image caption: People walk on an Israeli flag in Tehran Image source: EPA
Why are Israel and Iran arch-enemies?
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The conflict between Israel and Iran follows decades of hostility between the two arch-foes. But, until the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran and Israel were close allies with extensive economic and military ties.
The revolution brought to power in Iran a radical Shia Muslim regime whose ideology was deeply anti-Western and anti-Israel.
Under its new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran rejected Israel’s right to exist, depicting it as a symbol of oppression and Western imperialism.
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The regime cut off relations with Israel, threw its support behind the Palestinians, and became a chief sponsor of anti-Israel armed groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Israel, for its part, has branded Iran the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism and has worked closely with the US and other allies to impose sanctions and exert diplomatic pressure over Iran’s nuclear programme and military activities.
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It has also carried out years of covert operations against Iran – part of a long “shadow war” between the two countries before it broke out into the open.
Source: BBC
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