As tensions reached their peak in the Middle East, Iran on Tuesday fired 200 missiles, including hypersonic weapons, at Israel. Israel vowed to make Iran “pay” for the attack. But relations between the two countries were not always bad. As unimaginable as it may seem, Israel and Iran, with the help of the United States, cooperated to fight a common enemy.
In the 1960s, both Israel and Iran found an adversary in Iraq. While Israel was locked in a broader conflict against hostile Arab regimes, Iran, under the Shah, viewed Iraq’s leadership as a direct threat to its security and regional ambitions. It laid the foundation for one of the most secretive partnerships of the era, involving Mossad – Israel’s intelligence agency – and SAVAK – Iran’s secret police – both of whom played a key role in strengthening Kurdish rebels against the central Iraqi regime. These Kurdish groups, seen as the weak link in Iraq’s Arab nationalist leadership, were important in weakening the Iraqi government from within.
Cooperation between Israel and Iran reached new heights with the formation of a trilateral intelligence alliance called Trident, which also included Türkiye. As early as 1958, Trident saw these three non-Arab powers exchanging important intelligence and engaging in joint counter-intelligence operations. As relations matured, Israel and Iran became even closer, leading to deep military and intelligence ties that extended well into the Shah’s reign.
Shah’s ambitions and Israel’s influence
The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was motivated not only by shared geopolitical interests but also by confidence in Israel’s influence in Washington. The Shah saw Israel as a potential means to enhance relations with the United States, especially after the Kennedy administration expressed concerns about his authoritarian rule.
Growing Israeli–Iranian relations became a key feature of Iran’s strategy to align itself with the West, resulting in the establishment of a permanent Israeli delegation in Tehran by the mid-1960s, which functioned as a de facto embassy. .
Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with US President Jimmy Carter
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However, the relationship was not without complications. The Shah, aware of widespread anti-Israel sentiment throughout the Arab world, carefully managed the public face of Iran’s relations with Israel. Although he became more critical of Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967, his strategic interests remained more important than ideological or diplomatic positions.
collaboration in the shadows
The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran drastically changed the political landscape of the country, turning it into an anti-Israel Islamic republic. Yet, even after Ayatollah Khomeini came to power, the new regime found itself quietly cooperating with Israel, once again driven by common enemies. As the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) progressed, both countries recognized the advantage of working together against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
Israel also saw an opportunity in helping Iran. In particular, given Baghdad’s regional hegemony ambitions and pursuit of nuclear capabilities, it viewed Saddam Hussein’s Iraq as a more immediate and dangerous threat to its security. Iraq’s formidable military, supplied by both the United States and the Soviet Union, posed a risk, and Israel’s sending arms shipments to Iran – especially after Prime Minister Menachem Begin approved the sale of military equipment in 1980 – It was a deliberate decision to weaken Iraq’s strength. ,
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (left) talks with Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat at his home, where the ministers discussed events in Iran in 1979.
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These secret arms deals were conducted despite US policy, which prohibited military support for Iran until the release of American hostages held in Tehran. In exchange for Israeli military aid, Khomeini’s regime allowed large numbers of Iranian Jews to immigrate to Israel or the United States, a concession that underlined the pragmatic nature of the relationship.
iran-contra affair
By the mid-1980s, Iran’s need for military assistance reached a critical point. The Iran–Iraq War had exhausted the country’s resources, and its economy was on the verge of collapse. It was against this background that the Iran–Contra affair unfolded – an effort involving arms sales supported by Israel, with the support of senior officials of the Ronald Reagan administration, to secure the release of American hostages held by Iran-sponsored Hezbollah. Covert, high-risk operation. in Lebanon.
Algeria’s President Houari Boumediene, (center), Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, (left), and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, (right) in 1975.
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For Israel, these arms deals were lucrative and strategically valuable, further enhancing its role as a covert ally of Iran in the war against Iraq. Iran, desperate for arms and resources, was willing to engage with both Israel and the United States, even though it continued to publicly condemn Israel.
Secret Missile Project: Operation Flower
The Israeli-Iranian partnership extended beyond traditional arms deals. One of the most ambitious projects was Operation Flower, a secret billion-dollar initiative that began in 1977 under the Shah’s regime. The project involved the modification of surface-to-surface missiles for sale to Iran, potentially capable of being equipped with nuclear warheads. However, the nuclear aspect of the project was not pursued.
A 1986 report by The New York Times claimed that as part of the deal, Iran made a substantial advance payment by sending $260 million of oil to Israel in 1978. Work on the missile program continued until the Islamic Revolution in 1979, after which Khomeini’s regime abruptly halted cooperation.
Spare tire for F-4 fighter planes
According to a 1981 report in The New York Times, in October 1980 Israel secretly supplied Iran with 250 spare tires for American-made F-4 fighter planes as Iran waged war against Iraq.
Following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran in September 1980, Israel found itself in an unusual situation. The Israeli sale of 250 retreaded tires worth approximately $300,000 was a secret transaction intended to strengthen Iran’s air force. The F-4 Phantom jet, a key component of Iran’s military, was grounded due to wear and tear. Without immediate access to parts due to US-imposed sanctions on Iran, Israel stepped in to fill the gap. According to the New York Times, the retreaded tires were produced in Israel and then secretly transported to France, from where they were flown to Iran on chartered planes.
The Shah of Iran will discuss purchasing F-4 Phantom jets manufactured by McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Co. in St. Louis.
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The transaction occurred during a delicate period for US–Iran relations, when 52 US diplomats were still held hostage in Tehran. The Jimmy Carter administration, eager to secure their release, urged Israel to suspend further military deals with Iran until the hostages were freed. According to officials involved, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed to American pressure and halted all military deals, despite Israel’s strategic interests in preventing an Iraqi victory in the war.
Beyond regional power politics, Israel had another personal concern: the fate of the Jewish population in Iran. At the time, approximately 60,000 Jews lived in Iran, and there were growing fears in Israel that they might become targets of repression or persecution under the new regime. Maintaining some kind of back-channel communication with Iran was seen as a way to protect these Jewish communities.
Enmity and rivalry
By the 1990s, the era of cooperation between Israel and Iran was almost over. The geopolitical factors that once united them – Arab socialism, Soviet influence, and the threat of Iraq – had disappeared, leaving little incentive for continued cooperation. Iran, now firmly in control of its revolutionary government, adopted anti-Israel ideology, supporting groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas in their conflicts with the Jewish state.
In the early 2000s, the election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose Holocaust denial and aggressive rhetoric against Israel further increased tensions, established Iran as Israel’s foremost rival in the region. As Israel fought wars with Hezbollah in 2006 and Hamas in 2008, Iranian support for these non-state actors – collectively referred to as the ‘axis of resistance’ – became a central concern in Israel’s strategic calculations.
2024 and the threat of total war
Relations between Iran and Israel are now non-existent. The two Middle Eastern countries are now on the brink of all-out war, as evidenced by Israel’s multi-front conflict against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. These three armed militant groups are part of Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’.