Israel-Iran Proxy Conflict: A 46-Year Escalation to Today’s Crisis
An examination of how 46 years of proxy warfare between Israel and Iran have culminated in the current escalating conflict, tracing the historical developments and key events shaping this ongoing confrontation.

Channel 4 News
1.0M views • Jun 18, 2025

About this video
The war between Israel and Iran has been building for decades and now it’s spiralling out of control - but how did we get to this point?
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The new phase of this conflict began on June 13 with a huge wave of Israeli strikes on Iran, dealing damaging blows to Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and taking out key scientific and military personnel.
Iran’s response has been to fire missile and drone barrages, with some Israeli leaders speaking openly about regime change in Tehran.
But the threat of war between Israel and Iran has hung over the Middle East for more than forty years.
We take a closer look at the history between the two countries and some of the key events and alliances that help explain why Israel and Iran are at war, and why the outcome of the conflict ultimately comes down to Donald Trump and the USA.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:44 - A Shift in Relations: Post-1979 Iranian Revolution
00:01:51 - The Iran-Iraq War and its Impact
00:03:11 - Iran's Regional Alliances and Proxy Forces
00:03:58 - Israel's most important alliance
00:05:13 - Obama and Netanyahu's disagreement
00:06:18 - Trump's Impact and Withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal
00:07:53 - Escalation Post-October 7th Attacks
00:09:02 - Current State of the Conflict and Iran's Weakness
00:10:20 - Expert Discussion: Interview with Sir Lawrence Freedman
00:13:20 - Expert Discussion: Analysis of Iran's Proxy Strategy
00:17:07 - Expert Discussion: Potential for Long-Lasting Peace
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[Subscribe: https://bit.ly/C4_News_Subscribe]
The new phase of this conflict began on June 13 with a huge wave of Israeli strikes on Iran, dealing damaging blows to Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and taking out key scientific and military personnel.
Iran’s response has been to fire missile and drone barrages, with some Israeli leaders speaking openly about regime change in Tehran.
But the threat of war between Israel and Iran has hung over the Middle East for more than forty years.
We take a closer look at the history between the two countries and some of the key events and alliances that help explain why Israel and Iran are at war, and why the outcome of the conflict ultimately comes down to Donald Trump and the USA.
-------
CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:44 - A Shift in Relations: Post-1979 Iranian Revolution
00:01:51 - The Iran-Iraq War and its Impact
00:03:11 - Iran's Regional Alliances and Proxy Forces
00:03:58 - Israel's most important alliance
00:05:13 - Obama and Netanyahu's disagreement
00:06:18 - Trump's Impact and Withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal
00:07:53 - Escalation Post-October 7th Attacks
00:09:02 - Current State of the Conflict and Iran's Weakness
00:10:20 - Expert Discussion: Interview with Sir Lawrence Freedman
00:13:20 - Expert Discussion: Analysis of Iran's Proxy Strategy
00:17:07 - Expert Discussion: Potential for Long-Lasting Peace
-------
Get more news at our site - https://www.channel4.com/news/
Follow us:
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@c4news
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/channel4news/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Channel4News
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Channel4News/
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Video Information
Views
1.0M
Likes
7.6K
Duration
18:49
Published
Jun 18, 2025
User Reviews
4.4
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