Amid expectations for an agreement, remember how the war in Iran began

On February 28, United States President Donald Trump announced a "large-scale" attack on Iran, stating that the country's main objective was to "defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime."

These threats, he said, included Tehran's nuclear program - a recurring point of friction that has also hampered more recent negotiations to end the fighting.

The joint attacks by the US and Israel against Iran - which resulted in the death of the then supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - caused thousands of deaths across the country and damage to dozens of museums, historic buildings and cultural sites, according to Iranian media outlets and authorities.

In response, Iran launched a series of retaliatory attacks across the Middle East and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which about 20% of the world's oil passes.

Weeks before the start of the war, the Trump administration carried out the largest military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, triggering warnings about escalating regional violence if a conflict erupted.

At the same time, US envoys held regular talks with Iran about a possible new nuclear deal. But those negotiations were unable to avert military action, with Trump accusing Iran at the time of rejecting "all opportunities to renounce its nuclear ambitions."

The outbreak of war in February also followed mass anti-regime protests in Iran the previous month, fueled by economic discontent amid skyrocketing costs.

Trump said he is moving forward with an agreement with Iran and the country contests it | NOW CNN

Source: CNN