PROXY WARSIraq's President Saddam Hussein invades Iran in 1980, and the United States provides him with support, and an estimated 1.5 million people are killed during the next eight years. The Iranian government kills thousands of political opponents at home and assassinates several high-profile figures abroad. It gets involved in Lebanon's civil war, providing support to Hezbollah. The new Shiite militant group is blamed for the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and of the Beirut barracks of the U.S. Marine Corps; the two bombings killed more than 250 Americans. Iran places underwater mines in the strategic Persian Gulf. The U.S. responds by targeting Iranian oil installations in 1987 and 1988. The two countries approach outright war. In July 1988, the U.S. mistakenly downs an Iranian passenger jet flying above the Strait of Hormuz, killing 290 people. Two months later, Iran and Iraq reach a cease-fire.
IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIRAmid of some of the fiercest U.S.-Iranian hostility, the White House covertly sells arms to Iran and uses the proceeds to bankroll a secret war in Central America. Exposed in 1986, the scandal cripples the final two years of Ronald Reagan's presidency.
EXPORTING TERRORISMThrough the 1990s, the U.S. accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorism attacks around the world. Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, are blamed for a 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that kills 29 people, and an attack on a Jewish community center there two years later that kills 85. The U.S. and Israel say Iranprovides the critical support for dozens of Hamas suicide attacks and other bombings. President Bill Clinton imposes far-reaching oil and trade sanctions on Iran in 1995.
IRAN ELECTS NEW PRESIDENTThe 1997 election of Iran's reformist President Mohammad Khatami offers hope for a thaw in relations. Khatami promotes a "dialogue among civilizations" and reaches out to Western leaders. The U.S. lifts some penalties against Iran.
POST-9/11 WORLDLimited U.S.-Iranian cooperation continues after al-Qaida terrorists attack the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Officials from both sides coordinate before the U.S. invades Afghanistan to oust the Taliban. Months later, President George W. Bush enrages Iran by including it with Iraq and North Korea in his "axis of evil." Washington releases information about Iran's nuclear program and rebuffs Khatami's offer of a "grand bargain" to normalize U.S.-Iranian relations. After the U.S. ousts Saddam Hussein in 2003 and occupies Iraq, it accuses Iran of providing Shiite militants with sophisticated weapons to kill American soldiers. The U.S. steers clear of European diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear standoff.
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