US-Iran Relations

📌 Background & Key Features

• Long arc: From the 1979 hostage crisis and decades of sanctions, through the 2015 JCPOA (nuclear deal) and its 2018 US withdrawal, to renewed "maximum pressure" sanctions — US-Iran relations have oscillated between negotiation and confrontation for over four decades.
• 2026 war: The February 2026 US-Israel strikes marked a major military escalation beyond the earlier sanctions-based approach, drawing in Gulf states as secondary targets of Iranian retaliation.

📋 Quick Facts

📰 Current Affairs Linkage (2025-26)

• India adopted a measured, restrained posture during the 2026 conflict, balancing Chabahar Port investments and Iranian energy ties against its US and Gulf partnerships; an Indian tanker was stranded 23 days in the Strait of Hormuz before reaching Mumbai (see Part 3.2).
• A fragile ceasefire followed, but reparations demands, Iran’s nuclear capability status, and Gulf security arrangements remain unresolved flashpoints going into late 2026.

📝 PYQs for Practice (Mains)