The Long War: Iran, Israel, USA

Back in the days of the Shah, Iran and Israel were friendly countries. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 shifted Tehran's ambitions to one side and Washington and Tel Aviv's to the other. The conflict started in 1982 when the Israelis invaded Lebanon where they confronted Hezbollah, a new Lebanese Shiite force supported by Iran.

After the first Gulf War and the gradual collapse of the Soviet Union, the Americans dominated the Middle East. It was time to push for a resolution of the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin began a dialogue with the Palestinians. The ulterior motive of these contacts was to neutralize the influence of the Iranians. And the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who felt threatened, organized a resistance front against Israel and the United States, and secretly prepared to acquire nuclear weapons.