Iran-U.S. Relations: A Chronology

1940
1941 • Britain and the Soviet Union invade western Iran to counter the threat of expanding Nazi influence.
1950
Corbis / Bettman 1953 • American and British intelligence services overthrow Mossadegh. The coup consolidates power under the shah, ensuring cooperation on oil and discouraging Communist expansion.		1951 • Mohammed Mossadegh, an ultranationalist, is elected prime minister, under the shah. He angers the British by trying to nationalize the oil industry. Click here to view a magnified timeline of the coup period, with links to the original coverage from the Times.
1960
1963-64 • Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a religious leader, is exiled to Turkey after his arrest for speaking out against the shah's relationship with the United States.
1978
Corbis / Bettman - UPI 1979 • The Iranian revolution forces the shah to leave. A month later, he is allowed into the United States for cancer treatment in New York City.		1978 • Turmoil sweeps Iran. Khomeini establishes an opposition movement in Paris. Corbis/Bettman - UPI 1979 • Khomeini returns to proclaim an Islamic republic. With his support, Iranian students occupy the American Embassy in Tehran. Fifty-two Americans are held hostage for 444 days. The United States freezes Iranian assets.
1980
1980 • The United States breaks ties with Iran, bans American exports to the country and expels Iranian diplomats. 1981 • The hostages are released minutes after President Carter's term ends. A United States-Iran claims tribunal is set up in The Hague. 1988 • The American cruiser Vincennes mistakenly shoots down an Iranian airliner over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 aboard.		Corbis/Bettman - UPI 1980 • A secret American military mission to rescue the hostages is aborted because of bad weather. Eight servicemen die in a helicopter crash. The shah dies in Egypt at age 60. 1986 • Revelations emerge of an American deal to exchange arms for Iranian help in freeing hostages held in Lebanon. 1989 • Ayatollah Khomeini dies and is replaced as the nation's spiritual leader by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The speaker of Iran's Parliament, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is elected president.
1990
Agence France Presse 1997 • Mohammad Khatami, a moderate cleric, wins Iran's presidential election. Clinton calls the election hopeful, but insists that ties are not possible until Iran renounces terrorism, opposition to the Middle East peace effort and weapons of mass destruction. • Clinton asks Khatami for help in solving the 1996 bombing of a Saudi building in which 19 American servicemen died and hundreds were wounded. • The Clinton administration renews an offer for talks "on the basis of equality and mutual respect." Iran rejects the offer two days later. • The United States agrees to let Boeing provide Iran's national airline with parts to ensure the safety of its 747's.		1993 • The Clinton administration starts a campaign to isolate Iran, accusing it of supporting terrorism, seeking nuclear arms and trying to derail Middle East peace. 1996 • President Clinton signs a law that imposes sanctions on foreign companies investing heavily in "terrorist" Iran or Libya. 1998 • Khatami proposes cultural exchanges as a way to end mistrust, but rules out a government-to-government dialogue. • Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright invites Iranians to join with the United States in drawing up "a road map leading to normal relations." Iran responds that such a step must be followed up by acts. 1999 • The Clinton administration announces it will let American companies sell food and medical items to three countries off-limits as terrorist — Iran, Libya and Sudan.
2000
2000 • Albright announces the lifting of a ban on American imports of Iranian luxury goods. She acknowledges America's role in the 1953 coup, coming closer to apologizing for it than any American official ever has.		The Associated Press