United States and Iran relationship

By pshelly

  • The Coup

    The government of Iranian Prime Minister Muhammad Mussadeq is overthrown in a coup orchestrated by American and British intelligence agencies.

  • Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

    Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a religious leader, is exiled to Turkey after his arrest for speaking out against the shah's relationship with the United States.

  • U.S. citizens from the U.S embassy are taken hostage

    On November 4, Iranian Islamic students stormed the U.S. embassy, taking 66 hostages, mostly Americans. 14 were released before the end of November

  • Mission to try to rescue the hostages that were taken at the U.S. Embassay

    The U.S. tried to rescue the hostages by secretly landing aircraft and troops near Tabas, along the Dasht-e Kavir Desert in eastern Iran but the attempt was bungled.g

  • Hostages were released

    All hostages were released only shortly after Ronald Reagan took office.

  • Exchange arms

    Revelations emerge of an American deal to exchange arms for Iranian help in freeing hostages held in Lebanon.

  • U.S. warship shoots down Iranian airliner

    An American naval warship patrolling in the Persian Gulf has shot down an Iranian passenger jet after apparently mistaking it for an F-14 fighter.

  • Trade embargo

    Clinton signs an executive order banning trade with Iran.

  • Stiffens sanctions

    Clinton stiffens sanctions with penalties against any firm that invests $40m or more a year in oil and gas projects in Iran and Libya.

  • Axis of Evil

    US President George W Bush, in his State of the Union address, describes Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil". He warns that the proliferation of long-range missiles being developed in these countries is as great a danger to the US as terrorism.

  • The U.S. accuses Iran

    The US accuses Iran of seeking to develop a secret nuclear weapons programme and publishes satellite images of two nuclear sites under construction at Natanz and Arak.

  • Earthquake

    US sends humanitarian aid to Iran after earthquake kills up to 50,000 people in city of Bam.

  • Concludes that President Ahmadinejad

    The US concludes that President Ahmadinejad was a leader of the group behind the 1979 hostage crisis at its embassy in Tehran.

  • Restored in the future

    Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said relations with the US could be restored in the future.

  • Congratulations

    President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offers congratulations to Barack Obama after his election as US president. During the election campaign, Mr Obama had offered talks with Iran without preconditions.