From allies to rivals: 47 years of hostility between the US and Iran 47 years after Iranian students took over the US embassy in Tehran, the two countries remain locked in hostilities, with tensions now playing out in the Strait of Hormuz amid reports of US strikes near Iranian waters. Once allies in the Gulf under the Shah, Washington and Tehran's relationship fell apart following the 1979 revolution and the 444-day hostage crisis. Decades later, brokers continue to travel between the two capitals, but mistrust stemming from a 1953 coup, a stalled nuclear deal and ongoing regional rivalry still define their fraught relationship.

From allies to rivals: 47 years of hostility between the US and Iran 47 years after Iranian students took over the US embassy in Tehran, the two countries remain locked in hostilities, with tensions now playing out in the Strait of Hormuz amid reports of US strikes near Iranian waters. Once allies in the Gulf under the Shah, Washington and Tehran's relationship fell apart following the 1979 revolution and the 444-day hostage crisis. Decades later, brokers continue to travel between the two capitals, but mistrust stemming from a 1953 coup, a stalled nuclear deal and ongoing regional rivalry still define their fraught relationship.