Since the 1979 revolution, Iran's regime has conducted terrorist attacks and assassinations in more than 20 countries. In July 2018, authorities foiled the regime's terrorist plot against Iranian dissidents living in Paris. In 2019, the regime kidnapped a journalist in Iraq and killed an opposition figure in Turkey.

Israel has accused Iran of harboring genocidal intentions, while Iran has accused Israel of conducting a genocide in Gaza. Consequently, Israel has sought sanctions and military action against Iran to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

President Donald Trump on Saturday said that a US attack on Iran's three principal nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow had led to the “obliteration” of its key enrichment facilities. Later Iranian media acknowledged part of the Fordow site had been “attacked by enemy strikes”.