It seems unlikely now, but there was a time when Iran considered the US a “natural ally” that defended its liberty.Now, the US, along with Israel, has bombed Iran, killed its Supreme Leader and is attempting to overthrow its Islamic regime. So how did the two sides get here? Here’s a short history of the relationship.At the beginning of the 20th century, Iran, then known as Persia and ruled by the Qajar dynasty, struggled to safeguard its sovereignty against the powerful British and Russian Empires.As the US had no colonial history in West Asia and asserted its commitment to self-determination, Iran viewed Washington as a “natural ally” that could provide technical expertise without demanding territory. Howard Baskerville, a young Princetonian teacher who relocated to Tabriz, joined the pro-democracy constitutional revolution in Iran during this period.Baskerville was killed in 1909. Iranians hailed him as the “Lafayette of Persia” (inspired by Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who fought alongside George Washington in the American Revolution). Howard Baskerville. Wikimedia CommonsThe sacrifice created a deep emotional bond between the two peoples.In 1911, Iran hired American lawyer Morgan Shuster as Treasurer-General to modernise the country’s financial system. However, under pressure from Russia and Britain, he was fired. He wrote a famous book, The Strangling of Persia, in which he blamed European imperialism for crushing Iran’s hopes for progress.Coup brings Pahlavis to the throneStory continues below this adIn 1921, Reza Khan led a military coup that seized Tehran, eventually becoming Minister of War and Prime Minister. In 1925, Reza Khan was declared the new monarch, founding the Pahlavi dynasty. Inspired by Turkey’s Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Reza started a radical modernisation and secularisation system.A twist came during World War II, when, amid the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, Reza Khan was forced to abdicate in favour of his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Meanwhile, the US sent troops — not as occupiers, but as logistics experts — to manage the Persian Corridor.Also Read | As Reza Pahlavi again throws hat into the ring, a look at how the Shah ruled IranIn 1943, at the Tehran Conference, the US wanted a declaration acknowledging Iran’s assistance and guaranteeing its independence and territorial integrity after the war. Three years later, in 1946, the US forced the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops from northern Iran, effectively acting as Iran’s protector against Soviet annexation.Rise of nationalism and anti-colonial movementsStory continues below this adWith the culmination of World War II and the departure of the Soviet forces from the northern region, the Iranian nationalists targeted the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC), which paid Iran less in royalties than the UK government.This led Mohammad Mosaddegh to form the National Front Party. He assembled secularists, nationalists and clerics who demanded the oil’s nationalisation.The Iranian Parliament, Majlis, voted to nationalise the oil industry. Mosaddegh was appointed Prime Minister in 1951. As a result, Britain ordered a naval blockade and boycott of Iranian oil. The situation also created a rift between Mosaddegh and Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who had to flee the country for a short period. Mohammad Mosaddegh. Wikimedia CommonsIran, meanwhile, suggested a single federal state for Jews and Arabs and resisted the UN’s partition of Palestine. It recognised the newly formed state of Israel, making it the second Muslim nation (after Turkey) to do so. Influential religious figures like Ayatollah Abol-Ghasem Kashani condemned the recognition of Israel, viewing it as a “colonial outpost” in the Muslim world.Story continues below this adIn 1953, Mosaddegh, once a national hero, was overthrown and placed under house arrest for life after a coup backed by the CIA and its British counterpart, MI6. Mosaddegh severed ties with Israel, which he saw as serving Western interests in the region.On his return, Shah reposed his faith in the US. Consequently, the US backed and blessed an extremely autocratic government in Iran, following a failed experiment with democracy. These events led to the beginning of the anti-US sentiments among the Iranians that kept simmering until the 1979 Revolution.The 1979 RevolutionShah Pahlavi’s embrace of the US administration and the Western governments — calling it a “Golden Age” of cooperation in oil, intelligence, and military projects — did not go down well with many, especially the religious. Many Iranians saw the Shah as the West’s puppet.The actions of his secret police, SAVAK (Sazeman-e Vaziyat-e Keshvar, meaning Organisation of National Intelligence and Security), also added to the anger of the people. The year 1975 saw the Shah dissolving all political parties into a single entity, the Rastakhiz Party, further alienating the common people.Story continues below this adTo get an idea of how the US viewed this ruler, sample this 1977 New Year’s Eve toast by US President Jimmy Carter to Pahlavi: “Iran, because of the great leadership of the Shah, is an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world. This is a great tribute to you, Your Majesty, and to your leadership and to the respect and the admiration and love which your people give to you.”It wouldn’t be an island of stability for much longer.In 1978, as the country saw political repression and economic discontent, the Shah started to feel the pressure for reforms. By late 1978, a nationwide general strike and walkouts in the crucial oil industry crippled the regime’s finances. And by January 1979, the Shah had fled the country.Story continues below this adThis is when the US-Iran relationship shifted from a close strategic alliance to deep-seated hostility. A series of consequent events worsened the ties — the 444-day hostage crisis in the US embassy in 1979; the eight-year war between Iran and US-backed Iraq, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths on both sides; US attacks on Iranian oil platforms; and the shooting down of an Iranian aircraft (Flight 655) carrying civilians.During this period, the US sanctioned a number of Iranian sectors, including defence, energy and petroleum, banking and finance, metal and mining, and trade. All this put Iran’s economy under severe stress. The current value of the country’s currency in the open market is approximately 16,64,000 Iranian rial per $1.The Iranian rhetoric against US and IsraelIranian rhetoric against the US and Israel comes from the 1979 Revolution. The conservatives in Iran see both countries as not only geopolitical rivals but the ultimate ideological and moral “enemies of Islam”.The clerical regime calls the US “Satan” and seeks the destruction of Israel’s “Zionist regime”.Story continues below this adIran through its proxies — Hamas (Palestine), Hezbollah (Lebanon) and the Houthis (Yemen) — has sought to present what it calls a swift “resistance” to the US, Israel, and regimes supporting the two “enemies” in West Asia. In the current conflict, Iran has attacked the Gulf countries wherever there is a US airbase. The assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is likely to only fuel more anti-US and anti-Israel hatred among the conservatives in Iran.