Wars involving Iran

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts. The war began on 7 October 2023, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas led a surprise attack on Israel, in which 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Since the start of the Israeli offensive that followed, over 72,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed. Several studies in The Lancet indicate this figure is likely a significant undercount. A wide consensus of scholarship has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The Israeli government and its supporters, including the United States, reject that conclusion.

The Syrian Civil War was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring. The Assad regime responded to the protests with lethal force, which led to a series of defections, the emergence of armed opposition groups, and the civilian uprising descending into a civil war. The war lasted almost 14 years and culminated in the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Many sources regard this as the end of the civil war even though clashes have continued into 2026.

The Iran–Iraq War began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran in September 1980. After eight years of conflict, both countries accepted a ceasefire deal brokered by the United Nations, which became effective in August 1988. The war caused around 500,000 deaths, making it the deadliest conventional war ever fought between regular armies of developing countries.

On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran targeting military and government sites and assassinating several Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The surprise attacks were launched during negotiations between Iran and the US regarding Iran's nuclear program. Iran responded with missile and drone strikes against Israel, US bases, and US-allied Arab countries in the Middle East, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global trade.

The Twelve-Day War was an armed conflict between Iran and Israel which lasted from 13 to 24 June 2025. It began when Israel bombed military and nuclear facilities in Iran in a surprise attack, assassinating prominent military leaders, nuclear scientists, and politicians, killing civilians, and damaging or destroying air defenses. Iran retaliated with over 550 ballistic missiles and over 1,000 suicide drones, hitting civilian population centers, one hospital and at least twelve military, energy, and government sites. The United States intercepted Iranian attacks and bombed three Iranian nuclear sites on 22 June. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a US base in Qatar. On 24 June, Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire under US pressure.

military campaign started after September 11 attacks

1975–1990 Civil War in Lebanon

series of wars between ancient Greco-Roman and Iranian states

1941 invasion during World War II

last major armed conflict between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran

conflict in northwestern Iran

indirect conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia

Iran and Israel have been engaged in a proxy conflict since 1985. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia militias, most notably Hezbollah. In the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Israel has supported Iranian rebels, conducted airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria, assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists, and directly attacked Iranian forces in Syria. In 2024 the proxy war escalated to a series of direct confrontations between the two countries, and in June 2025, they fought a 12-day war, involving the United States.

2004–2014 Houthi rebellion, escalating into the Yemen Civil War

series of wars between Persia and Russia

2011–13 sectarian violence in Iraq following the US invasion and withdrawal

Revolution against the Al Bu Said dynasty in Oman

1st-century BCE military campaign

armed conflict in Iraq

military conflict in 1990's Iraq

separatist dispute

response of Iran to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

series of armed skirmishes between Iran and Iraq in the Persian Gulf

Wikimedia list article

intervention against Islamic state by Iran

armed conflict between PJAK and Iran

political and armed activity by Kurds in Iran

clashes between Kurdish insurgents and the Revolutionary Guards