US-IRAN Tension (How it all started)

This Article might get long but it has almost everything that one should know that led to the tension between the 2 country.

In the hours after an American drone strike in Iraq killed Iran’s most important military leader, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a question has dominated discussion on social media. Could this lead to war between the United States and Iran? The attack at Baghdad International Airport also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF). Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei swiftly pledged to take "severe revenge" for Soleimani's assassination. 

So how all of these started?

It was May 8 2018 when US President Donald trump annouced that US is Withdrawing  from the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA). In response, Iran called Trump's decision "unacceptable" and said it would bypass Washington and negotiate with the deal's other remaining signatories: France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and China.The US on August 7 2018 reimposed the first round of Sanctions  on Iran, originally lifted as part of the nuclear deal.They prohibited trade with a number of business sectors - from aviation and carpets to pistachios and gold. 

On November 5  2018, the US announced a new round  of sanctions, this time specifically targeting the key oil and banking sectors.

On April 8 2019, Trump announced he was designating a powerful arm of the Iranian military, the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign "terrorist" organisation.It was the first time Washington formally labelled another country's military a "terrorist group".Responding to the move, Iran immediately declared the US a "state sponsor of terrorism" and called Washington's forces in the region "terrorist groups".

On may 5 2019 US sends aircraft carrier to the middle east in response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings.

On May 8, Iran said it was preparing to increase enriched uranium and heavy water production as part of its decision to stop certain commitments made under the nuclear deal.A year after Washington withdrew from the deal and later reimposed sanctions on Tehran, Trump announced new measures against Iran's steel and mining sectors.

On May 19, a rocket landed near the US embassy in Baghdad. No one was harmed. Then can the tweet from Trump that If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!

Then there were deploying of troops by Pentagon and in response Iran shot down US military drone.the US Air Forces Central Command said in a statement that F-22 Raptor stealth fighters were being deployed in the region "to defend American forces and interests.

Iran exceeded the limit on the amount of enriched uranium in its stockpile set out in the nuclear deal on July 1 and the new limit on july 8 respectively.

On September 3, the US imposed sanctions on  Iran's civilian space agency and two research organisations, saying they were being used to advance Tehran's ballistic missile programme.

On September 4, the US turned up the economic pressure on Iran, blacklisting an oil shipping network that Washington alleges is directed by the IRGC.

On December 11, the US Treasury imposed new sanctions on Iran's biggest airline and its shipping industry, accusing them of transporting lethal aid to Yemen. They targeted three general sales agents of Mahan Air over the role the airline has allegedly played in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.Also blacklisted was an Iranian shipping network that the US accused of involvement in smuggling aid 

On December 27, a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk killed a US contractor and wounded several US service members and Iraqi personnel.

Two days later - on December 29 - the US military carried out "defensive strikes" on sites in Iraq and Syria belonging to Kataib Hezbollah that Washington said were in retaliation for the killing of the US contractor. 

Meanwhile, on January 2, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said there were "some indications" that Iran or groups it supports "may be planning additional attacks" on US interests in the Middle East. 

In a predawn air raid in at Iraq's Baghdad airport on January 3, the US struck and killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, or PMF.

Iran would have earned $200 billion surplus income...if the country were not involved in an economic war,President Hassan Rohani made the comments while launching a railway project near Tehran.Since the United States abandoned the deal in 2018, Iran has lost 90 percent of its oil exports, a key source of revenue. Its currency has plummeted, and inflation has surpassed 40 percent.

I would like to give credit to aljazeera for the information that I have gathered for this article.This is only for the information and education purpose.