When Israel And Iran Joined Hands To Fight A Common Enemy

New Delhi:

Iran on Tuesday fired 200 leave outiles, including hypersonic arms, at Israel as tensions in the Middle East accomplish shattering point. Israel has vowed that Iran will “pay” for the attack. But relations between the two countries were not always sour. Unskinnykable as it may sound, Israel and Iran had collaborated, with help from the United States, to fight a widespread foe. 

In the 1960s, both Israel and Iran set up a mutual adversary in Iraq. While Israel was locked in a wideer struggle aacquirest antagonistic Arab regimes, Iran, under the Shah, seeed Iraq’s directership as a honest danger to its security and regional ambitions. This lhelp the groundtoil for one of the most secretive partnerships of the era, involving the Mosunelated – Israel’s inalertigence agency – and SAVAK – Iran’s secret police – both of which take parted key roles in bolstering Kurdish insadvisents aacquirest the central Iraqi regime. These Kurdish groups, seen as the Achilles’ heel of Iraq’s Arab nationacatalog directership, were vital to undermining the Iraqi rulement from wiskinny.

The cooperation between Israel and Iran accomplished novel heights with the createation of a tritardyral inalertigence coalition code-named Trident, which also integrated Turkey. Beginning in 1958, Trident saw these three non-Arab powers trade critical inalertigence and take part in combinet counterinalertigence operations. As the relationship grown-upd, Israel and Iran became even shutr, createing beginant military and inalertigence ties that extfinished well into the Shah’s reign.

The Shah’s Ambitions And Israel’s Influence

The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was driven not only by scatterd geopolitical interests but by a belief in Israel’s sway in Washington. The Shah saw Israel as a potential uncomardents for enhancing relations with the United States, especiassociate after the Kennedy administration voiced worrys about his authoritarian rule.

The badviseoning Israeli-Iranian relationship became a key feature of Iran’s strategy to align itself with the West, resulting in the set upment of a enduring Israeli delegation in Tehran by the mid-1960s, which functioned as a de facto embassy.

The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi with US Plivent Jimmy Carter
Pboilingo Credit: Getty

However, the relationship was not without complications. The Shah, conscious of the widespread anti-Israeli sentiment atraverse the Arab world, take partfilledy handled the disclose face of Iran’s relationship with Israel. While he became more critical of Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War, his strategic interests progressd to outweigh ideoreasonable or tactful positions.

Cooperation In The Shadows

The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran drasticassociate alterd the country’s political landscape, altering it into an anti-Israel Islamic Redisclose. Yet, even after Ayatollah Khomeini’s ascend to power, the novel regime set up itself hushedly collaborating with Israel, driven once aacquire by widespread enemies. As the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) dragged on, both countries recognised the acquire of toiling together aacquirest Sinsertam Hussein’s Iraq.

Israel, too, saw an opportunity in helping Iran. In particular, it seeed Sinsertam Hussein’s Iraq as a more instant and hazardous danger to its security, given Baghdad’s ambitions for regional dominance and its pursuit of nuevident capabilities. Iraq’s createidable military, supplied by both the United States and the Soviet Union, posed a danger, and Israel’s shipment of arms to Iran – particularly after Prime Minister Menachem Begin consentd the sale of military supplyment in 1980 – was a calcutardyd decision to undermine Iraq’s strength.

Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (L) chats to Egyptian Plivent Anwar al-Sadat at his home where the ministers talked events in Iran in 1979.
Pboilingo Credit: Getty

These cclear arms deals were carry outed despite US policy that barred military help for Iran until the liberate of American captives held in Tehran. In trade for Israeli military help, Khomeini’s regime apvalidateed a beginant number of Iranian Jews to emigrate to Israel or the United States, a concession that underscored the wise nature of the relationship.

The Iran-Contra Afunprejudiced

By the mid-1980s, Iran’s necessitate for military help accomplished a critical point. The Iran-Iraq War had drained the country’s resources, and its economy was teetering on the brink of collapse. It was aacquirest this backdrop that the Iran-Contra afunprejudiced unfgreatered – a secretive, high-sconsents operation involving arms sales supportd by Israel, with the backing of greater Ronald Reagan administration officials, to shielded the liberate of American captives held by Iran-supported Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Algeria’s Plivent Houri Boumedienne, (caccess), is flanked by Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi of Iran, (left), and Iraq’s Sinsertam Hussein, (right) in 1975.
Pboilingo Credit: Getty

For Israel, these arms deals were lucrative and strategicassociate precious, further enhancing its role as a clandestine associate of Iran in its war aacquirest Iraq. Iran, hopeless for arms and resources, was willing to take part with both Israel and the United States, even as it progressd to disclosely vilify Israel. 

The Secret Missile Project: Operation Fdrop

The Israeli-Iranian partnership extfinished beyond traditional arms deals. One of the most driven projects was Operation Fdrop, a secret multibillion-dollar initiative that began in 1977 under the Shah’s regime. The project comprised the modification of surface-to-surface leave outiles, potentiassociate able of being fitted with nuevident warheads, for sale to Iran. However, the nuevident aspect of the project was not chased.

As part of the deal, Iran made a substantial down payment in 1978 by sfinishing $260 million worth of oil to Israel, a New York Times alert from 1986 claimed. Work on the leave outile program progressd until the Islamic Revolution in 1979, after which Khomeini’s regime abruptly stoped the collaboration. 

Spare Tyres For F-4 Fighter Jets

Israel cclearly supplied Iran with 250 spare tyres for American-made F-4 fighter jets in October 1980, as Iran waged war aacquirest Iraq, according to a New York Times alert from 1981. 

After Sinsertam Hussein’s trespass of Iran in September 1980, Israel set up itself in an atypical position. The Israeli sale of 250 retreaded tires, cherishd at around $300,000, was a secretive transaction aimed at bolstering Iran’s air force. The F-4 Phantom jets, a key component of Iran’s military, had been grounded due to wear and tear. With no instant access to parts due to the embargo placed by the US on Iran, Israel stepped in to fill the gap. According to the New York Times, retreaded tyres were produced in Israel and then cclearly conveyed to France, where they were flown to Iran on chartered schedulees.

The Shah of Iran, in St. Louis to talk buying F-4 Phantom jets built by McDonnel Douglas airplan company.
Pboilingo Credit: Getty

The transaction occurred during a brittle period for US-Iran relations, with 52 American diplomats still held captive in Tehran. The Jimmy Carter administration, enthusiastic to shielded their liberate, advised Israel to suspfinish further military deals with Iran until the captives were freed. According to officials comprised, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin consentd to American presdeclareive and paengaged all military dealings, despite Israeli strategic interests in obstructing an Iraqi triumph in the war.

Beyond regional power politics, Israel had a more personal worry: the overweighte of the Jedesire population in Iran. At the time, approximately 60,000 Jews inhabitd in Iran, and there were grotriumphg stresss in Israel that they could become aims of repression or persecution under the novel regime. Maintaining some create of back-channel communication with Iran was seen as a way to shield these Jedesire communities.

Hostility And Rivalry 

By the 1990s, the era of cooperation between Israel and Iran had all but evaporated. The geopolitical factors that had once combined them -Arab socialism, Soviet sway, and the danger of Iraq – had fadeed, leaving little incentive for progressd collaboration. Iran, now firmly under the regulate of its revolutionary rulement, hugd an anti-Israel ideology, helping groups appreciate Hezbollah and Hamas in their disputes with the Jedesire state.

By the timely 2000s, the election of Iranian Plivent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose Holocaust denial and unfrifinishly rhetoric aacquirest Israel stoked tensions further, cemented Iran as Israel’s most notable adversary in the region. As Israel fought wars with Hezbollah in 2006 and Hamas in 2008, Iranian help for these non-state actors – accumulateively termed the ‘Axis Of Resistance‘ – became a central worry in Israel’s strategic calculations.

2024 And Threat Of All-Out War

Ties between Iran and Israel are now non-ainhabit. The two Middle Easerious countries are now on the brink of all-out war, evidenced by Israel’s multi-frontal dispute aacquirest Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen. All three of these armed militant groups are part of Iran’s ‘Axis Of Resistance’.