The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran

After years of exile in Najaf, Khomeini left Iraq under pressure from the Iraqi government. The move relocated the Iranian opposition leader to France and formed part of the strained relationship...

Khomeini’s return placed him at the center of the revolutionary transition. The new political order that followed disrupted Iran’s regional relationships and heightened Iraqi leaders’ concern about...

The armed forces declared neutrality as the royal government collapsed. The transition weakened and reorganized Iran’s military command while the new republic faced domestic conflict and growing...

Abolhassan Bani-Sadr won the Islamic Republic’s first presidential election. He would lead Iran’s presidency during the invasion’s opening months before losing power in the political crisis of June...

Iran held the first round of elections to its post-revolutionary Majlis. The legislature became an arena for disputes over executive authority before and during the war.

Operation Eagle Claw was aborted in the Iranian desert after equipment failures and a collision killed eight U.S. personnel. The failed incursion intensified the crisis and reinforced Tehran’s...

A second parliamentary election round filled additional seats in Iran’s first post-revolutionary Majlis. Voting had been postponed in some areas, so the rounds did not resolve every vacancy.

Iran inaugurated its first post-revolutionary Majlis. Bani-Sadr and Khomeini addressed the new institution as Iran faced domestic divisions and growing tensions with Iraq.

A CIA daily assessment described Iraq seeking Gulf leadership and stronger ties with Arab monarchies. It identified deteriorating relations with Iran as a constraint on Baghdad’s ambitions.

The Revolutionary Council adopted the legal bill establishing the National Basij organization. This institutional framework preceded the mass volunteer role that developed during the war.