EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis). For many people today, the idea that Iran and Israel were once close allies seems almost impossible to imagine. Yet for nearly three decades, from the late 1940s until the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the two countries maintained a quiet but significant strategic partnership. They cooperated in areas such as intelligence, military affairs, trade, and energy, despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
This short video explores that little-known chapter of Middle Eastern history and explains how shared security concerns brought Iran and Israel together during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It also examines how the 1979 Islamic Revolution dramatically transformed Iran’s foreign policy, turning a former ally into one of Israel’s most outspoken adversaries—a rivalry that continues to shape regional politics today.
