F-22 stealth fighters have been deployed by Washington to Qatar for the first time. This adds to build-up in already tense relations between US and Iran and to presence of US forces in the Gulf. An image shows five of the jets flying above the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which have been deployed to "to defend American forces and interests," according to a military statement.
Iran has threatened to abandon some of its commitments under the nuclear deal unless the remaining partners — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — help it circumvent US sanctions and especially sell its oil.
Tensions have further spiked between the countries since Iran shot down a US drone over sensitive Gulf waters last week following a series of tanker attacks that US blamed on Iran.
US and Iran have shared tricky relations in the past. In 1953, Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadeq was ousted by a coup planned by US and British intelligence.
In 1979, Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, was forced to leave the country and Islamic religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile. Post a referendum, the Islamic republic of Iran was proclaimed on April 1.
In November 1979, the US embassy in Tehran was seized by protesters, Americans were held hostage for 444 days and finally were released in January 1981. In 1986, Americans try to strike a deal to exchange arms for Iran in return for help in freeing hostages in Lebanon. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took over as the head of the nation after Ayatollah Khomeini died in 1989.
In 2000s, the US accused Iran of a clandestine nuclear weapons programme, which was denied by Iran. This was followed by a decade of diplomatic activity and intermittent Iranian engagement with the UN's nuclear watchdog. In 2013, Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke on the phone— first conversation on such top level in 30 years.
In 2013, Iran agreed to a long-term nuclear deal. Other signatories include UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. In 2019, tensions restart after US President Donald Trump backs out from the nuclear deal.
