The war in Iran is Rapidly Evolving–This is What We Know.
Written By Daychaun Powe
World News
For the last few decades, America’s relationship with Iran has been incredibly complicated. From coup d’etats, to ceasefires, to even deals made with the world’s biggest powers. To anyone interested in either country’s history, a new confrontation is almost no surprise. But with recent developments affecting worldwide oil prices, and even national alliances, many are understandably cautious.
To truly understand the whole of the current situation, one must first understand the United States and Iran’s history. Their first major interaction took place in 1953 with Operation Ajax. This was a United States and United Kingdom assisted coup d’etat in Iran, which resulted in the overthrowing of their elected prime minister, Mohamed Masaddedgh. It resulted in Shah Mohammed Rezah Pavaldi returning to power and is widely believed to have been influenced by Iran’s growing oil industry.
One of the biggest interactions between the two countries that contributed to current events is Iran’s signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a 2015 agreement signed by the top nations in the United Nations (UN). It stated Iran was allowed to continue with its nuclear research, but only under intense surveillance from the UN. The U.S. pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018.
Another recent event was the 2020 assasination of Iranian General Qassim Solemnei, an act approved by the U.S. President and Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump in order to prevent future attacks on U.S. military personnel and citizens.
On Feb. 28, 2026, the United States sent bomb strikes to Iran with the successful plan to kill Prime Minister Ayatollah Ali Khamnei. Along with this, in what the U.S. describes as a “targeting error,” a girl’s elementary school was also hit, which resulted in around 175 deaths, mostly consisting of students. The United States claimed they were ridding Iranian people of a ruthless dictator, while also stopping any future attacks that may have been planned for America. Shortly after, Iran responded with bombing attacks on multiple U.S. and Israeli bases, with one strike resulting in the death of six U.S. soldiers.
The following weeks have been an intense back and forth between Iran and the United States alongside its ally, Israel. Following the death of Khamnei, Iran officially named Majitabe Khamnie, son of the former leader, as their new supreme leader and tightened its grip on the strait of Hormuz, even shooting at British vessels. This resulted in a U.S. blockade on the opposite end, not allowing any ships to get through. Israel has also enacted bombing attacks that killed two more high ranking Iran officials, and only a week later, Iran killed six more U.S. soldiers. Following many more conflicts, government figures in Pakistan have become very vocal in trying to help a middle ground be discovered between the two nations.
With an ongoing ceasefire set to end around early May, no one on either side can truly guess the outcome of the conflict.