A look at the long, fraught timeline of Iran nuclear tensions as talks with US loom

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

48% : Israel, working with a U.S.-led international coalition, intercepts much of the incoming fire. April 19, 2024 --
47% : Moscow ultimately will come to rely on Iranian bomb-carrying drones in the conflict, as well as missiles. July 17, 2022 -- An adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Kamal Kharrazi, says Iran is technically capable of making a nuclear bomb, but has not decided whether to build one. Mideast wars rage Oct. 7, 2023 -- Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip storm into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage, beginning the most intense war ever between Israel and Hamas.
46% : The talks come as America has assembled the largest fleet of warplanes and aircraft in the Mideast in decades as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to force Iran into a deal after it saw nationwide protests against its theocracy.
46% : Those talks, and others between Tehran and European nations, fail to reach any agreement. April 11, 2021 -- A second attack within a year targets Iran's Natanz nuclear site, again likely carried out by Israel. April 16, 2021 -- Iran begins enriching uranium up to 60% -- its highest purity ever and a technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Feb. 24, 2022 -- Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
46% : " The Iran-Israel war begins June 9, 2025 -- Iran signals it won't accept a U.S. proposal over the nuclear program. June 12, 2025 -- The Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency finds Iran in noncompliance with its nuclear obligations.
43% : The attacks mirror tactics earlier used by Iran. April 14, 2024 -- Iran launches an unprecedented direct attack on Israel, firing over 300 missiles and attack drones.
35% : Iran responds by announcing it has built and will activate a third nuclear enrichment facility. June 13, 2025 -- Israel launches its war against Iran.
33% : Israel later takes responsibility for the assassination. Sept. 27, 2024 --
33% : Oct. 26, 2024 -- Israel openly attacks Iran for the first time, striking air defense systems and sites associated with its missile program.
32% : FILE - Israeli soldiers search through the rubble of residential buildings destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Bat Yam, central Israel, June 15, 2025.
28% : Iran blames the attack on archenemy Israel. April 6, 2021 -- Iran and the U.S. under President Joe Biden begin indirect negotiations in Vienna over how to restore the nuclear deal.
17% : An Israeli airstrike kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. Oct. 1, 2024 -- Iran launches its second direct attack on Israel, though a U.S.-led coalition and Israel shoot down most of the missiles. Oct. 16, 2024 -- Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip.

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