In the 1960s, Israel and Iran, though now adversaries, were once allies against a shared enemy: Iraq. At the time, Iraq posed a threat to both nations for different reasons—Israel was engaged in conflicts with hostile Arab regimes, while Iran, under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, viewed Iraq as a key threat to its regional ambitions. This shared threat led to covert cooperation between Israel, Iran, and the United States, with their intelligence agencies—Mossad and Iran's SAVAK—working together to support Kurdish insurgents in Iraq.
These Kurdish fighters played a crucial role in destabilising the Iraqi government, which was seen as a leading force of Arab nationalism.
This collaboration later developed into an intelligence-sharing alliance known as Trident, involving Turkey as well. The partnership significantly strengthened military and strategic ties between Israel and Iran. For Iran, this relationship with Israel was not just about mutual security—it was a potential path to better relations with the West, particularly the United States. By the mid-1960s, Israel had even established a permanent delegation in Tehran.
However, things shifted dramatically after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, when Ayatollah Khomeini came to power and transformed Iran into an Islamic Republic that officially opposed Israel. Despite this, covert cooperation continued during the Iran-Iraq War, as both nations saw Iraq under Saddam Hussein as a bigger threat. Israel secretly supplied Iran with arms to weaken Iraq, even during a US embargo on military assistance to Tehran.
One of the most well-known instances of this secret collaboration was the Iran-Contra affair in the mid-1980s, where Israel acted as an intermediary in the sale of US weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages held by Hezbollah. This scandal revealed the extent to which Israel, Iran, and the US were willing to work together despite their public animosity.
Additional covert operations, such as Operation Flower, a missile development project, and Israel's supply of military parts to Iran, highlighted the depth of their clandestine relationship. However, by the 1990s, the factors that had united these two countries changed. Iraq's threat diminished, and Iran adopted a firmly anti-Israel stance, which persists today. With the rise of hardline leadership in Iran and its support for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, the enmity between the two nations deepened.
Today, Israel and Iran are firmly on opposing sides, with tensions high and the threat of direct conflict constantly looming.
(With bureau inputs)