ThePrint Opinion: Iran & Israel used to be allies, what went wrong?
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Mar 22, 2026 A look at how Iran and Israel moved from covert cooperation in intelligence and military support to open rivalry. The conversation traces Reagan-era back-channels, Iran–Iraq war dynamics, and Israel’s role in sustaining Iranian air power. It explores the rise of proxies like Hezbollah, Iran’s drone development, and how regional politics and shifting Israeli demographics hardened positions.
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Unexpected Iran Israel Cooperation After 1979
- Iran and Israel once cooperated strategically, including Israel sourcing US defense equipment for Iran after 1979.
- Back-channel deals like early Iran-Contra kept tactical ties despite the revolution and hostage crisis affecting US-Iran relations.
Israel Backed Iran To Contain Saddam
- During the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq war Israel backed Iran to counter Saddam and even supplied spare parts and engineers for Iran's F-4 Phantom fleet.
- Israel preferred a strong Iran to contain Iraq, diverging from the US goal of weakening Tehran.
Iran's Drone Program Rooted In Israeli Lessons
- Iran learned asymmetric tactics from Israeli drone operations and developed indigenous kamikaze drone families like Shahid 136 and 238.
- Early study of Israeli saturation tactics against Soviet air defenses led to Iran's Ababil I and later Shahid systems used today.