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U.S.-Iran Tensions Are High; 40 Years Of Conflict Suggest What Might Come Next : Throughline After Iran shot down an American surveillance drone in June, tensions between the two countries have only gone up. But the US and Iran have been in some state of conflict for the last 40 years, since the Iranian revolution. This week, we look at three key moments in this conflict to better understand where it might go next.

Throughline

Rules of Engagement

Rules of Engagement

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  • Thousands of Iranians participate in a mass funeral in Tehran for the people who died on Iran Air Flight 655. The plane was shot down by the USS Vincennes on July 3, 1988, and all 290 people on board were killed.
    Thousands of Iranians participate in a mass funeral in Tehran for the people who died on Iran Air Flight 655. The plane was shot down by the USS Vincennes on July 3, 1988, and all 290 people on board were killed.
    Mohammad Sayyad/CP/AP
  • A US Navy minesweeping helicopter leads the way for the US reflagged Kuwaiti tanker convoy on October 22, 1987.
    A US Navy minesweeping helicopter leads the way for the US reflagged Kuwaiti tanker convoy on October 22, 1987.
    Norbert Schiller/AFP/Getty Images
  • Rescue workers remove the body of a U.S. Marine from the rubble of the Marine Battalion headquarters at Beirut airport, Oct. 23, 1983. The building was destroyed by a truck loaded with explosives.
    Rescue workers remove the body of a U.S. Marine from the rubble of the Marine Battalion headquarters at Beirut airport, Oct. 23, 1983. The building was destroyed by a truck loaded with explosives.
    Assad/AP
  • Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, points as he talks to a technician during his visit of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility some 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, on April 8, 2008.
    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, points as he talks to a technician during his visit of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility some 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, on April 8, 2008.
    ASSOCIATED PRESS

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After Iran shot down an American surveillance drone in June, tensions between the two countries have only gone up. But the US and Iran have been in some state of conflict for the last 40 years, since the Iranian revolution. This week, we look at three key moments in this conflict to better understand where it might go next.

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