Iran-U.S. enmity has been interrupted for only brief periods, one of which came via the 2015 nuclear deal that imposed limits on Iran’s atomic activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump withdrew from that deal in 2018 and imposed even harsher sanctions.

Israel expects the incoming Trump administration to take a hard line against Iran and its nuclear ambitions, which will create an opportunity for more peace deals with Arab neighbors, a senior member of Israel's security cabinet said.

By Emma Ashford, a columnist at Foreign Policy and a senior fellow with the Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center, and Matthew Kroenig, a columnist at Foreign Policy and vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.

Iran-sanctioned attacks on U.S. personnel has surged since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel as Iran may pressure Washington to ease Israel's fight against Hamas and Hezbollah.

Israel's airstrikes on Iran last month destroyed a top-secret Iranian nuclear research facility at Parchin, according to reports.

The Israeli strike on Iran's Parchin military complex in late October will make it much harder for Iran to develop a nuclear explosive device if it chooses to do so, two Israeli officials told Axios.