Iran & Israel: Unpacking Decades Of Conflict

The relationship between Iran and Israel has long been a complex tapestry woven with threads of geopolitical rivalry, ideological differences, and shifting alliances. For many observers, the recent surge in direct confrontations might seem like a sudden, alarming development. However, to truly grasp the depth and persistence of this animosity, one must ask: how long have Iran and Israel been fighting? The answer isn't a simple date, but rather a journey through decades of evolving hostility, from covert operations to open military exchanges.

What began as a cordial, albeit strategic, relationship during the Cold War era has transformed into one of the Middle East's most enduring and dangerous rivalries. This article delves into the historical trajectory of the Iran-Israel conflict, exploring its origins, the pivotal moments that shaped its trajectory, and the recent escalations that have brought this long-standing shadow war into the glaring light of direct confrontation.

How Long Have Iran and Israel Been Fighting?

The question of how long have Iran and Israel been fighting is not straightforward because their conflict has evolved significantly over time. While direct military confrontations have only recently become more overt and frequent, the underlying animosity and strategic rivalry stretch back decades. For most of the Cold War, their relationship was actually quite cordial. However, a seismic shift occurred following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, fundamentally altering the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and setting the two nations on a collision course.

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Since 1985, the two countries have been engaged in what is widely referred to as a "proxy war." This means they have supported other groups and fought indirectly, especially in places like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Gaza. This long history of clandestine attacks by land, sea, air, and cyberspace, often conducted by Tehran via its various proxies, defines much of the conflict's duration. The current trading of attacks marks the most intense fighting between the two countries in decades, but it is a culmination, not a beginning, of their deeply rooted animosity.

From Cordiality to Cold War Hostility: The Seeds of Discontent

Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Israel and Iran, under the Shah's rule, maintained a pragmatic relationship. Both were non-Arab states in a predominantly Arab region, and both had strategic interests that occasionally aligned, particularly concerning regional stability and countering Arab nationalism. Covert ties and economic cooperation were not uncommon. This cordiality, however, was predicated on the Shah's pro-Western stance and his secular government.

The 1979 Iranian Revolution dramatically changed everything. The new Islamic Republic, led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, adopted a fiercely anti-Zionist ideology. Iran's current government does not recognize Israel's legitimacy as a state. This foundational belief has been a consistent rhetoric since the revolution: they believe that Israel is an illegitimate state and should be expelled from the region. This ideological chasm laid the groundwork for the decades of hostility that followed, fundamentally altering the answer to how long have Iran and Israel been fighting by marking the true ideological genesis of their conflict.

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The Dawn of Open Animosity: Post-1991 Gulf War

While the 1979 revolution set the ideological stage, the relationship became openly hostile after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. This period marked a shift from a strained, ideologically opposed stance to one of active strategic rivalry. Iran, having emerged from its devastating war with Iraq, began to consolidate its regional influence, often through non-state actors. Israel, increasingly concerned by Iran's growing power and its anti-Israel rhetoric, viewed Tehran as a primary existential threat.

This post-Gulf War era saw Iran actively backing armed groups around the region that target Israel, as well as the U.S. This strategy of leveraging proxies became a defining characteristic of their conflict, allowing both sides to inflict damage and exert influence without engaging in direct, state-on-state warfare for many years. It's during this period that the "shadow warfare" truly took root, laying the foundation for understanding the complex answer to how long have Iran and Israel been fighting.

Decades of Shadow Warfare: The Proxy Era

For a significant portion of the answer to how long have Iran and Israel been fighting, the conflict has primarily manifested as a shadow war. This involves indirect confrontation through third parties, covert operations, and strategic maneuvering rather than direct military engagement between the two states themselves.

What is Proxy Warfare?

Proxy warfare is a conflict where two opposing powers avoid direct confrontation by supporting opposing sides in a conflict. In the context of Iran and Israel, this has meant that Iran has provided financial, military, and ideological support to various non-state armed groups that operate against Israel. This strategy allows Iran to project power and destabilize its adversary without risking direct military retaliation on its own soil. Conversely, Israel has engaged in counter-proxy operations, targeting these groups and their Iranian benefactors through intelligence operations, airstrikes, and other covert means.

Key Battlegrounds and Iranian Influence

The primary proxy battlegrounds have been:

• Lebanon: The main one is Hezbollah in Lebanon, formed in the 1980s to fight the Israeli occupation. Iran has long backed Hezbollah, transforming it into a formidable military and political force capable of launching rockets into Israel.
• Syria: With the onset of the Syrian civil war, Iran significantly expanded its military presence and influence in Syria, often supporting pro-regime militias. This brought Iranian forces and their proxies dangerously close to Israel's northern border, leading to frequent Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian assets and weapons transfers in Syria.
• Iraq: Iran has also cultivated influence over various Shiite militias in Iraq, some of which have been implicated in attacks on U.S. forces and, indirectly, have contributed to regional instability that impacts Israeli security interests.
• Gaza: Iran provides support to Palestinian militant groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. The October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack, which saw Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip storm into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, beginning the most intense war between Israel and Hamas, highlights the devastating impact of these proxy relationships.

This network of proxies has allowed Iran to maintain pressure on Israel from multiple fronts, contributing significantly to the duration and complexity of the conflict. Israel, in turn, has consistently worked to degrade the capabilities of these proxies and disrupt Iran's supply lines and command structures.

The Nuclear Question: A Central Flashpoint

Beyond the proxy wars, Iran's nuclear program has emerged as perhaps the most critical and dangerous flashpoint in the conflict, profoundly shaping the answer to how long have Iran and Israel been fighting and raising the stakes considerably.

Israel's Unwavering Stance

For Israel, a nuclear-armed Iran represents an existential threat. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long promised Israelis that he won’t let Iran develop a nuclear weapon. This commitment has been central to his political career. Israel's first ever attack on the nuclear program of a hostile state was over before the world even realized, demonstrating a proactive and often preemptive approach to perceived threats. Netanyahu has consistently sensed that Israel might never have a better opportunity to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, fueling a constant state of alert and readiness.

International Diplomacy and Military Threats

The United States and Israel have long vowed to take military action if necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. However, approaches have varied. President Donald Trump, for instance, sought a diplomatic solution after scrapping an earlier nuclear agreement with Iran during his first term. Despite diplomatic efforts, the threat of military intervention has always loomed large, contributing to the high tensions and the covert aspects of the conflict. Iran and Israel have spent over a decade trading cyberattacks, covert operations, and military strikes, with tensions soaring in recent years over Iran’s nuclear program and regional influence. This continuous cat-and-mouse game over the nuclear issue underscores the depth and strategic importance of this particular dimension of their long-standing conflict.

Escalation in Recent Years: From Covert to Overt

While the conflict has largely been characterized by shadow warfare for decades, recent years have seen a significant escalation, pushing the boundaries of the answer to how long have Iran and Israel been fighting into a new, more dangerous phase of direct confrontation.

Cyberattacks and Covert Operations

Even before the recent overt exchanges, Iran and Israel have spent over a decade trading cyberattacks, covert operations, and military strikes. These actions often targeted critical infrastructure, military installations, or key personnel, aiming to disrupt and deter without triggering full-scale war. This clandestine struggle has been a constant undercurrent, shaping the operational environment and contributing to the overall tension. However, the nature of the conflict began to shift dramatically in late 2023 and early 2024.

The October 7th, 2023 Turning Point

A major catalyst for the recent, more overt escalation was the October 7th, 2023, attack. Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, beginning the most intense war between Israel and Hamas. This event fundamentally altered the regional security calculus and intensified Israel's operations in Gaza, leading to Israel leveling much of Gaza to destroy Hamas. One way to look at Israel’s war with Iran is that it’s a natural escalation of the battles that the Jewish state has fought since the Oct. 7th attack. This direct conflict with a major Iranian proxy, coupled with Israel's subsequent actions, created a volatile environment ripe for direct state-on-state confrontation.

Further exacerbating tensions, Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip on December 16, 2024. Such high-profile assassinations of key figures within Iranian-backed groups are a clear demonstration of Israel's resolve and contribute to the cycle of escalation, making the question of how long have Iran and Israel been fighting feel increasingly urgent as the conflict becomes less covert.

Direct Confrontations: A New Chapter of Open Conflict

The long history of shadow warfare and proxy conflicts entered a new, alarming chapter in 2024 and 2025, marked by direct military exchanges between Iran and Israel. This shift has redefined the answer to how long have Iran and Israel been fighting, bringing the conflict out of the shadows and into direct view.

The spark for this direct confrontation was a Damascus airstrike, attributed to Israel, which targeted Iranian military leadership. Iran responded to the Damascus airstrike by launching a nighttime attack on Israel with 120 missiles. Israeli media reports suggested that about 400 of those had already been launched. Israel’s Iron Dome, its advanced air defense system, was severely tested by Iran’s missile barrages, but it was able to lean on its principal ally, the United States, to provide assistance in intercepting the incoming threats. Despite the Iron Dome's effectiveness, some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country, with reports later confirming 21 people had been hurt in the rocket strike.

In retaliation, Israel and Iran opened a new chapter in their long history of conflict when Israel launched a major attack with airstrikes early Friday (June 13, 2025), setting off explosions in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day and threatened even greater force. This series of direct attacks and counter-attacks signifies a dangerous escalation, moving beyond the decades-long proxy warfare into a phase where both nations are directly targeting each other's territory and assets. The escalating war raises all sorts of questions about regional stability and the potential for wider conflict.

Further adding to the intensity, Israel decimated Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, in September 2024, signaling a willingness to directly confront and dismantle Iran's regional network. Israel later announced a new wave of missiles had been launched from Iran, and that it was working to intercept them, reinforcing the ongoing nature of these direct exchanges.

The Future of a Deep-Seated Conflict

The current fighting, while new in its directness, is a continuation of a conflict that has been going on for a long time. The trajectory of the Iran-Israel relationship suggests that tensions are unlikely to dissipate quickly. With Iran's consistent rhetoric that they believe Israel is an illegitimate state and should be expelled from the region, and Israel's unwavering commitment to preventing a nuclear Iran and countering regional threats, the underlying causes of animosity remain deeply entrenched.

The recent direct exchanges have set a dangerous precedent, raising the specter of a full-scale regional war. The involvement of international actors, particularly the United States, in providing assistance and attempting de-escalation, highlights the global implications of this long-standing rivalry. The question of how long have Iran and Israel been fighting will likely continue to evolve as new chapters of this complex and perilous conflict unfold.

Conclusion: Understanding a Protracted Struggle

In conclusion, the answer to how long have Iran and Israel been fighting is not a single point in time, but a complex narrative spanning over four decades. What began as a cordial relationship transformed after the 1979 Iranian Revolution into a deep ideological rift, evolving into decades of shadow warfare characterized by proxy conflicts across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Gaza. The persistent concern over Iran's nuclear program has only intensified this rivalry, bringing it to a boiling point.

The recent direct military exchanges, triggered by events like the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack and subsequent retaliations, mark a dangerous new chapter. This escalation from covert operations to overt missile strikes and counter-strikes underscores the volatile nature of this conflict. Understanding its long history—from initial cordiality to ideological opposition, proxy wars, and now direct confrontation—is crucial for comprehending the current geopolitical landscape of the Middle East.