Iran is, so to speak, a land of crises. In this country, it is very difficult to accurately provide the chronology of social, political, economic, and historical crises of even a few years, in other words, to fully reflect the crises.
Medianews.az site, citing the "Al Jazeera" channel broadcast from Qatar, presents a brief chronology of a number of crises experienced in Iran after the victory of the Islamic revolution.
1979
February: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 14 years of exile.
April: Based on referendum results, the Islamic Republic is declared in Iran.
November: After diplomats are taken hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Washington imposes the first sanctions against Iran.
1980
September: Iraq attacks Iran (about 500,000 people died in this 8-year war, the majority of casualties were on Iran’s side).
1981
January: The hostage crisis ends; Iran frees the last hostages taken in the embassy.
June: An explosion occurs at the headquarters of the Islamic Republic Party in Tehran, killing dozens of high-ranking officials including the head of the judiciary Mohammad Beheshti.
August: President Mohammad Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar are killed in a terrorist attack. The government holds the "People’s Mujahedin" organization responsible for this event.
1982
June: Israel enters Lebanon. Iran begins financing the Lebanese resistance movement that would later become "Hezbollah".
1988
July: The U.S. Navy ship "USS Vincennes" shoots down an Iran Air passenger plane over the Persian Gulf. All 290 people on the plane die.
August: A ceasefire is declared in the Iran-Iraq war through the mediation of the UN.
1989
June: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini passes away.
The next day, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is elected as the country’s supreme leader by decision of the Assembly of Experts.
1990
June: Approximately 40,000 people die as a result of a strong earthquake.
1995
March–May: The U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran’s oil sector and trade, stating that Tehran supports terrorism and is trying to acquire nuclear weapons.
1998
September: The "Taliban" admits killing eight Iranian diplomats and one journalist in Afghanistan. Iran responds by sending thousands of troops to the Afghanistan border.
2002
January: U.S. President George Bush calls Iran, along with North Korea and Iraq, the "axis of evil".
2003
March: The U.S. intervenes in Iraq. Iran begins supporting Shiite armed groups and political organizations in Iraq.
November: Tehran announces the temporary suspension of uranium enrichment and grants wide access to UN inspectors. The IAEA reports finding no evidence of a nuclear weapons program in Iran.
December: Around 40,000 people die in an earthquake in the city of Bam.
2006
December: The UN Security Council announces sanctions against Iran for not stopping its nuclear program.
2007
October: The U.S. announces tougher sanctions against Iran.
2010
June: The UN Security Council adopts a fourth package of sanctions against Iran due to its nuclear program.
September: Iran accuses the U.S. and Israel of cyberattacks on its nuclear facilities.
2011
March: The Bashar al-Assad regime violently suppresses protests in Syria. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and allied armed groups are sent to Syria to support Bashar al-Assad.
2012
January: The European Union imposes an embargo on Iranian oil.
September: The IAEA reports restricted access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.
October: The rial's value against the dollar drops to a record low.
2015
July: A nuclear agreement is signed between Iran and the "P5+1" countries. The agreement creates a wave of hope in the country.
2018
May: U.S. President Donald Trump withdraws from the nuclear agreement.
2020
January: Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s "Quds" forces, is killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.
2024
April: Israel bombs the Iranian embassy in Damascus.
May: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi dies in a helicopter crash.
July: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is killed in Tehran.
2025
June: Israel's attack on Iran leads to a 12-day war between the two countries. At least 610 Iranians and 28 Israelis are killed in the fighting.
