US-Iran Relations: A Timeline of Escalation Under Trump
The Lead
The relationship between the United States and Iran has been fractured and tumultuous since Donald Trump's first term as US president, when he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
May 2018: The US Withdraws from the JCPOA
On May 8, Trump delivered on an election campaign promise when he announced that the US would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, which had been signed in 2015 with several countries, including the European Union, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom.
August 2018: The US Imposes New Sanctions on Iran
On August 7, the US imposed its first round of new sanctions on Iran, which had earlier been lifted as part of the international nuclear deal. The sanctions barred trade with a range of business and production sectors in Iran, from aviation and carpets to pistachios and gold.
November 2018: The US Imposes More Sanctions
On November 5, the US announced a new round of sanctions, this time specifically targeting Iran's key oil and banking sectors.
April 2019: Trump Designates the IRGC a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization'
On April 8, Trump designated Iran's elite, parallel military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a "foreign terrorist organization" (FTO), marking the first time Washington had formally labelled another country's military a "terrorist" group.
May 2019: Iran Backs Out of JCPOA
On May 5, John Bolton, Trump's national security adviser, announced that the US was sending an aircraft carrier strike group and US Air Force bombers to the Middle East "in response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings".
January 2020: The Assassination of Qassem Soleimani
On January 3, 2020, US forces assassinated Qassem Soleimani, the head of the IRGC's elite Quds Force, in a drone strike while he was in Baghdad.
2021: Biden Restarts Diplomacy
In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the US presidential election and, in April 2021, Iran and the US began indirect negotiations in Vienna, Austria, on how to restore the nuclear deal.
February 2025: Trump Restores 'Maximum Pressure' on Iran
Shortly after Trump was inaugurated for his second term, the White House announced that he had signed a national security presidential memorandum restoring "maximum pressure" on Tehran aimed at "denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, and countering Iran's malign influence abroad".
May 2025: Trump Says the US and Iran Are Close to a Nuclear Deal
During Trump's Gulf tour in May 2025, his diplomatic stance appeared to be holding. Trump said the US had engaged in "very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace".
June 2025: 12-Day War
On June 13, Israel launched strikes on Iran. Over 12 days, it hit nuclear and military sites, as well as other government installations.
February 2026: The US-Israeli War on Iran Begins
On February 28, Israel and the US launched strikes on Tehran, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the conflict's first moments, and triggering the war.