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It seems strange to think in this chaotic febrile epoch we are living in, but once upon a time Iran and the United States were friends.

But the Islamic Revolution of 1979 changed that, and since then the two states have seen tensions escalate again and again.

So much so, that there’s now the real possibility of a direct confrontation between the two foes.

The killing of three American servicemen in Jordan by Iranian-backed militias is the latest episode in a bitter rivalry that’s now four decades old.

But let’s first wind back.

FILE PHOTO OF FEBRUARY 1979 - Supporters of the leader and founder of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Khomeini hold his picture in Tehran during the country's revolution in February 1979. Iraninans celebrate the 20th anniverssary of the Revolution this week. DS/WS
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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.

In 1979 the ground starts shifting across the country with a wave of civil unrest and popular protest.

FILE PHOTO OF FEBRUARY 1979 - The late leader and founder of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Khomeini speak from a balcony of the Alavi school in Tehran during the country's revolution in February 1979. Iraninans celebrate the 20th anniverssary of the Revolution this week. DS/WS
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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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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.

Remains of a burned-out U.S. helicopter lies in front of abandoned chopper in the eastern desert region of Iran, April 27, 1980, one day after an abortive American commando raid to free the U.S. Embassy hostages. (AP Photo)
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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.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran. An Iranian woman walks past a U.S. helicopter CH-53 Sea Stallion that crashed in Iran in 1980, in Azadi (freedom) Square in Tehran April 25, 2010. A ceremony organized by Iran's Revolutionary guard marks the anniversary of the failed U.S. operation to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran in 1980. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS)
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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).

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Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during a ceremony at the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, 350 km (217 miles) south of Tehran, April 9, 2007. Iran announced on Monday it had begun industrial-scale nuclear fuel production in a fresh snub to the U.N. Security Council, which has imposed two rounds of sanctions on it for refusing to halt such work. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN)
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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.

Qassem Soleimani
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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.

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‘Liberation day is here’: But what will it mean for global trade?

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'Liberation day is here': But what will it mean for global trade?

“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.

It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.

It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.

It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.

Follow the events of Liberation Day live as they unfold

Three key figures are central to it all.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.

Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.

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His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.

‘Stop that crap’: Trump adviser Peter Navarro reacts to Sky News correspondent’s question over tariffs

The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.

The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.

If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.

What are Donald Trump’s tariffs, what is ‘liberation day’ and how does it all affect the UK?

And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?

“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.

“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.

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‘Days of US being ripped off are over’

Dancing to the president’s tune

My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.

Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.

But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.

Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.

One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.

Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.

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Treasury minister: ‘We’ll do everything to secure a deal’

Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?

The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.

It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.

Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?

Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?

US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.

Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?

For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.

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Bodies still remain among the ‘collapsed and inclining’ buildings in quake-hit Mandalay

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Bodies still remain among the 'collapsed and inclining' buildings in quake-hit Mandalay

A man inside Mandalay has told Sky News bodies remain under “collapsed and inclining” buildings after the Myanmar earthquake – as a woman was freed from rubble after 91 hours.

The local inside Myanmar said many of the structures in the city were wrecked or badly damaged after the 7.7 magnitude quake on Friday, adding: “There are some bodies, some dead bodies, that still remain and other destruction”.

Meanwhile, in a televised address, Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing said the number of dead had risen to 2,719 and is expected to exceed 3,000.

Some 4,521 people have been injured, while a further 441 are missing.

More than 10,000 buildings are known to have collapsed or been severely damaged in central and northwest Myanmar, the World Health Organisation said.

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Before and after: Myanmar earthquake

Smell of dead bodies near destroyed buildings

In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, which was close to the quake’s epicentre, 50 children and two teachers were killed when their preschool collapsed, the United Nations said.

The local in the city told Sky News that “a lot of local assistance associations like charity groups are still struggling with digging out the corpses, the dead bodies, from the destruction”.

He said that “when we pass near the destructions, the collapsed building or very damaged building, we can smell” dead bodies.

“The smell of the dead bodies after four days… it still remains,” he said, before adding: “For the social assistance association… they need permission [to give aid] especially from the government.

“If they don’t have permission, then they cannot do anything.”

People sheltering in a makeshift tent camp in Mandalay. Pic: Reuters
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People sheltering in a makeshift tent camp in Mandalay. Pic: Reuters

He also said others in Mandalay are struggling after the earthquake, which followed the city being affected by cyclones, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the civil war in Myanmar – where a junta seized power in a coup in 2021.

“Some people, they say they have nothing at all,” the local added. “They have no more home, they have no more belongings, because its already damaged.”

Woman freed after 91 hours under rubble

It comes after the fire department in Myanmar’s capital freed a woman trapped under rubble 91 hours after the building collapsed.

The 63-year-old woman was freed early on Tuesday in Naypyidaw.

As the country continues to recover, a worker from the International Rescue Committee said people fear aftershocks and are sleeping outside on roads or in open fields.

Communities are struggling to meet basic needs such as access to clean water and sanitation, and emergency teams are working “tirelessly” to locate survivors and provide aid, the UN said in a report.

Rescue efforts have been complicated by the civil war, as rebel groups say the junta has conducted airstrikes, even after the quake, while NGOs fear that certain areas could be denied vital supplies.

“Myanmar’s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active,” said Joe Freeman, a researcher with Amnesty Myanmar.

“It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments.”

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The quake was the strongest to hit the southeast Asian country in more than a century.

In neighbouring Thailand, rescuers are still scouring the ruins of a collapsed, unfinished skyscraper for any signs of life.

“There are about 70 bodies underneath, and we hope by some miracle one or two are still alive,” volunteer rescue leader Bin Bunluerit said.

Six human-shaped figures have been detected by scanners, said Bangkok’s deputy governor, Tavida Kamolvej.

Thirteen deaths have been confirmed at the building site, with 74 people still missing, while Thailand’s national number of dead stands at 20.

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Father demands protection after Gaza aid workers’ deaths

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Father demands protection after Gaza aid workers' deaths

The father of a paramedic killed by Israel in Gaza has told Sky News he would have been on the mission to rescue wounded colleagues, but was ill that day and so his son went instead.

“It was supposed to be me, you know. I was on duty that night but fell ill and sent him in my place.”

Speaking at his son’s funeral, Hassan Abu Hileh said Israel is to blame for the death of Mohammed and the other 14 men.

SN footage of P 170800TU GAZA BUNKALL 1700 PKG JJ1
paramedic Hassan Abu Hileh who's son Mohammed was killed by Israeli forces
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Hassan Abu Hileh’s son Mohammed was killed when Israeli forces said they ‘opened fire on suspicious vehicles’

“We need protection from the international community. We need protection for medical teams. We are medics-soldiers of duty, not armed fighters. We carry out humanitarian work. If I see someone who needs medical attention, I’m obligated to serve them,” he said.

The bodies of the Red Crescent and United Nations workers went missing around eight days ago. Despite repeated requests to search for them, all denied by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the UN eventually found 14 bodies buried under sand in a mass grave. One is still missing.

They were still wearing their uniforms.

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
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Funerals took place on Monday for medics killed in Gaza. Pic: Reuters

The director of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza has accused Israel of murdering the emergency workers. “We arrived at the scene of the crime to retrieve the bodies and found that all of them had been shot directly in the upper part of their bodies and buried,” said Dr Bashir Murad.

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“The ambulances were also destroyed and buried.”

SN footage of P 170800TU GAZA BUNKALL 1700 PKG JJ1
Dr Bashir Murad, Director of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza
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Dr Bashir Murad, director of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza, said the workers had been shot

The bodies were found in sand in the south of the Gaza Strip in what Jonathan Whittall, Gaza head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, called a “mass grave”, marked with the emergency light from a crushed ambulance.

Mr Whittall posted pictures and video of Red Crescent teams digging in the sand for the bodies and workers laying them out on the ground, covered in plastic sheets.

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Bodies of aid workers found in Gaza

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has denied killing innocent medical workers and said Israeli forces opened fire on suspicious vehicles that were travelling without coordination and in an active combat zone.

“The IDF did not randomly attack an ambulance on March 23,” claimed a spokesman.

“⁠Last Sunday, several uncoordinated vehicles were identified advancing suspiciously toward IDF troops without headlights or emergency signals. IDF troops then opened fire at the suspected vehicles.

“Earlier that day, cars that did not belong to terrorists were coordinated and passed safely on the same route.”

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We have asked the IDF why the bodies were found in a mass grave but have received no comment.

More than 400 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the UN.

According to the UN, at least 1,060 healthcare workers have been killed in the 18 months since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

The UN is reducing its international staff in Gaza by a third because of safety concerns.

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