G. Kraaijeveld On the night of 16-17 March 2026, Israeli airstrikes in the Tehran area killed Ali Larijani (Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and de facto leader) and Gholamreza Soleimani (commander of Iran’s internal Basij militia).
From 1951 to 1953, Iran nationalized its oil industry under Prime Minister Mossadegh, leading to an international crisis and the eventual 1953 coup.
In 1979, Iranian students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days and transforming U.S.-Iran relations.
