Iran and the Gulf — Israel and the Gulf
A mutually declared adversarial relationship since 1979, in open armed conflict since 2026.
Iran and Israel have held mutually declared adversarial postures since the 1979 revolution, with no diplomatic relations. It became direct and sustained armed conflict in 2026, when Israel joined the campaign that opened on 28 February and killed Iran's Supreme Leader.
The parties
- Iran and the Gulf adversarial relationship with Israel and the Gulf
A symmetric arrangement: it reads the same from either side. Authored once, on one record.
Status
Active
In force and operating. Says nothing about how well it is working, or about which way it is heading.
Last material change: 2026-02-28.
What the arrangement covers
Categories the arrangement is documented to include. Not a measure: a relationship covering more of them is described in more detail, not held more firmly.
Summary
The relationship is openly declared by both parties and requires no inference: Iran has not recognised Israel since 1979 and there are no diplomatic relations between them. Direct exchanges between the two states, as distinct from action through partners, became a feature of the file from 2024 and escalated through the twelve-day war of June 2025. In the current phase Israel is a co-belligerent alongside the United States; the Congressional Research Service attributes the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February 2026 to Israel. What this module does not do is treat the fighting as the relationship. The campaign, its strikes and their chronology belong to the Timeline.
Why it matters
Israel is the one actor in this module that is both a belligerent against Iran and a security partner of a Gulf state. Holding the adversarial relationship and the Emirati security relationship as two separate authored records is what lets the module show that combination instead of resolving it into a simpler story.
Related events
- Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is killed 28 Feb 2026
Leadership change · Military
- United States and Israeli strikes on Iran open the war 28 Feb 2026
Military · Weapons deliveries
What remains unknown
- Israeli operational claims and Iranian claims about Israeli action are both carried with the claimant named where this module records them at all. The strike record itself is not authored on this relationship.
All Iran–Gulf relationships Open in Explore
Assessed as of2026-09Last reviewed2026-09-04