Image: Supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran during the revolution in 1979. Pic: Reuters
British and US intelligence were pivotal in helping the Iranian military overthrow Iran’s prime minister, Mohammad Mossadeq, in 1953.
This intervention, or meddling, as it was seen in the country, brought back to power the unpopular western-leaning monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was heavily dependent on US support for his power.
At the heart of this support was the promise of access to the country’s natural resources, particularly oil.
But, this alliance would soon be disrupted.
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In 1979 the ground starts shifting across the country with a wave of civil unrest and popular protest.
Image: Ayatollah Khomeini speaks from a balcony in February 1979. Pic: Reuters
This uprising would see the grand ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini, return from years of exile – his platform and power fuelled by vehement opposition to what he considered a servile pro-western monarchy.
Taking power with an iron grip, the new Supreme Leader would transform the country into a radical Islamic theocracy.
But this takeover would not end at Iran’s borders.
At the heart of the transformation, there was a desire to spread the revolution to neighbouring countries – a project that continues to this day.
In 1985 the emerging militant group Hezbollah pledged its allegiance to Khomeini – that relationship has gone from strength to strength.
And thanks to Iran’s patronage Hezbollah is now the most powerful militant group in the world, often described as a state within a state in Lebanon.
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3:05
How does Iran influence the Middle East?
The spread of Iranian influence would grow exponentially over the next four decades, increasingly setting the country on a collision course with the United States and its allies.
The first big clash came quickly.
It arose after 52 American diplomats and citizens were taken hostage at the US embassy by radical Iranian students.
They were held for 444 days from 4 November 1979 until their release in 1981.
The US saw this as a serious breach of international law, but in Iran it was viewed as a blow against excessive US influence and meddling in the country.
It also burnished the credentials of the new regime, who opposed normalising relations with western countries – particularly America, which was labelled the Great Satan by the ayatollahs in their increasingly fiery speeches about foreign policy.
Image: Remains of a burned-out US helicopter in the eastern desert region of Iran in 1980. Pic AP
Operation Eagle Claw – a disastrous US attempt to free the hostages – saw a helicopter crash into a transport aircraft, causing a fire that killed eight servicemen.
During this time the US had cut diplomatic ties with Iran and banned most trade – things were not looking great.
In 1980 Iraq invaded Iran – the countries had been massive rivals but were now at war. The United States lent its hefty support to Iraq led by Saddam Hussein. The fighting, which dragged on until 1988, saw huge casualties on both sides but it is estimated as many as one million Iranians died in the conflict.
Relations with the US would remain bad. The Beirut Barracks bombing, Operation Praying Mantis, the Iran-Contra Affair and sanctions were the punctuation marks for two countries ideologically opposed, that were seemingly always at, or close to conflict.
That was until 1998 when there appeared to be glimmers of hope that relations were improving. Secretary of state Madeleine Albright met with Iran’s deputy foreign minister – it was the highest level contact since the revolution but it would not last.
Image: An Iranian woman walks past a US helicopter that crashed in Iran in 1980. Pic: Reuters
A few years later in 2002 and in a seminal speech President George Bush was labelling Iran as part of the “axis of evil” – its bedfellows Iraq and North Korea.
US officials would also claim Iran was operating a clandestine nuclear programme with the intent of building a bomb.
These were the years after 9/11.
Attempts to reach diplomatic understandings since then have mostly ended in failure.
President Barack Obama tried to use the carrot of sanctions relief to tame Iran’s nuclear program.
The agreement would eventually emerge as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Image: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Natanz nuclear facility. Pic: Reuters
It was hoped that the deal would steer Iran away from the big bomb, or at the very least slow progress; but many Republicans viewed it with suspicion arguing that it – along with the lifting of sanctions – gave the Iranians more power to spread their pernicious influence across the region.
Enter stage Donald Trump. Exit stage deal. The one-time – but perhaps soon to be two – US president ripped up the agreement when he withdrew America from the JCPOA.
Iran and America were soon back in a spiral of escalation. President Trump would later designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terror organisation.
Perhaps, the most significant event that underlines how broken the relationship is and how far apart the two countries have become came in the form of a US drone strike on 3 January 2020.
Image: Qassem Soleimani was assassinated. Pic: AP
Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC Quds force and one of the most powerful men in Iran – and by extension the region – was killed in the attack in Baghdad.
The American action sent shockwaves through the Middle East and Iran vowed revenge.
The regime also stated it would no longer restrict its nuclear program.
All of this forms the backdrop to current events. It is hard to see in the present climate how things can improve.
In fact, with the war raging in Gaza and Iranian-backed militias across the region taking pot shots at US forces, things look set to get even worse.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.