Collection · 1979 — 2026
Iran vs America: 47 Years of Confrontation Through Speeches
From the Hostage Crisis to today's conflict.
US-Iran relations broke in November 1979 when revolutionary students seized the American embassy in Tehran. The 444 days that followed reshaped both countries — and the rhetoric of every administration since. This collection traces the arc through the speeches that defined it: Carter's grim addresses, Reagan's Iran-Contra confession, Bush's "axis of evil," Ahmadinejad's confrontational UN years, the brief diplomatic thaw of the Obama-Rouhani deal, and the rapid escalation that followed Trump's 2018 withdrawal and the 2020 Soleimani strike.
Each entry links to the full speech page, with verified transcripts where available and official source links where they are not. Non-speech events (the 1953 coup, Iran Air Flight 655) are included as context cards, clearly marked.
Interactive Timeline · 1953 — 2026
Operation Ajax — CIA-backed coup
MI6 and the CIA help overthrow PM Mosaddegh; the Shah is restored to power.
Carter's Tehran New Year's Toast
Carter calls Iran 'an island of stability' weeks before the Revolution begins.
Khomeini Returns from Exile
1 February 1979 — the Ayatollah arrives in Tehran; the Revolution accelerates.
"Great Satan" Speech
Ayatollah Khomeini
"America is the Great Satan, the wounded snake."
Read full speech →Hostage Crisis Address
Jimmy Carter
"We will continue to seek the safe and prompt release of the hostages."
Read full speech →Iran Designated State Sponsor of Terrorism
Ronald Reagan
"Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism."
Read full speech →Iran-Contra Address
Ronald Reagan
"A few months ago I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and the evidence tell me it is not."
Read full speech →USS Vincennes — Iran Air Flight 655
USS Vincennes shoots down a civilian Iran Air flight, killing 290.
State of the Union — "Axis of Evil"
George W. Bush
"States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world."
Read full speech →Address at Columbia University
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
"In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country."
Read full speech →UN General Assembly Address
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
"Iran's nuclear issue is now closed."
Read full speech →Nowruz Message to Iran
Barack Obama
"My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us."
Read full speech →JCPOA Announcement
Barack Obama
"Today, after two years of negotiations, the United States, together with our international partners, has achieved something that decades of animosity has not."
Read full speech →JCPOA Withdrawal
Donald Trump
"Today, we have definitive proof that this Iranian promise was a lie."
Read full speech →Soleimani Strike Statement
Donald Trump
"Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel."
Read full speech →Soleimani Response Address
Ayatollah Khamenei
"The Americans must leave the region."
Read full speech →Further Reading
Books on rhetoric & great speeches
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All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror
Stephen Kinzer
The 1953 CIA coup that started everything.
View on Amazon →Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis
Mark Bowden
Definitive account of the 444-day hostage crisis.
View on Amazon →The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran
David Crist
Pentagon historian's inside account of US-Iran tensions.
View on Amazon →Browse the full speech library
Beyond Iran-USA, our library catalogues hundreds of historic addresses with rhetorical breakdowns and verified transcripts.
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