#IsraelIranConflict

Iran trained and armed Hezbollah during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and continued to support the Shiite militias during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. [24] Even before 1979, Iranian Islamists had materially supported the Palestinians; after 1979, Iran attempted to establish relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and, subsequently, with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Israel waged a war against Hezbollah in 2006.

Israel has fought several wars with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings: in 2008-2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2023-2024. The Lebanon War of 1982 and the Gaza war have been the deadliest wars of the Arab-Israeli conflict. [25] In the Israeli-Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shiite militias, especially Hezbollah. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Israel has received military support from the United States, as well as from Germany, Britain, and Italy. [26] [27] [28] [29] Israel has also carried out airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria and has been suspected of assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists. In 2018, Israeli forces directly attacked Iranian forces in Syria. [30]

Several reasons have been given for the conflict between Iran and Israel. Iran and Israel had previously enjoyed warm ties due to common threats, but by the 1990s, the USSR had dissolved, and Iraq had weakened. [31] Iranian Islamists have long defended the Palestinian people, whom they perceive as oppressed. [32] Scholars believe that by supporting the Palestinians, Iran seeks greater acceptance among Sunnis and Arabs, who dominate the Middle East. [33] [34] At times, Iran has supported both the one-state solution and the two-state solution as a response to the plight of the Palestinians, [35] while the country has also used