Much before a 230 mph laser-guided Hellfire missile almost pushed the US and Iran to a full-blown war, it is worth recalling a time when the two countries shared a rather different relationship. The genesis of the turmoil that lead to the recent killing of Iran's top military general Qassem Soleimani goes back to 1908 when the British founded the Anglo-Persian Oil Company to tap into Persia's oil reserves.

The Union Jack was then building an empire and US did not command the kind of presence it has now. The oil firm minted money from the oil it dug and shared a portion, reportedly a mere 16%, with Persia. The math was tilted in favour the Union Jack. Iran tried to negotiate a fair price but the British refused to budge.

A tide of nationalism in 1951 saw the emergence of Mohammed Mossadegh as Iran prime minister. Mossadegh pushed to seize what he believed was fair for Iran. A coup in 1953 done by the British and US intelligence agencies -- MI6 & CIA -- against Mossadegh created an animosity that has lasted for over 65 years now.

Here is the brief story a tussle that started from a partnership:1941: British InvasionBritain invade Iran and Mohammad Reza Pahlevi is installed as Irans political leader. Following the war and long negotiations, the Anglo-Iranian oil company is set up. The firm monopolized the oil production in the country amid protests from nationalists.

1951: Rise of Mohammed MossadeghMohammed Mossadegh gained popularity with nation-wide campaign against APAC. After he took charge as prime minister, Mossadegh cancelled Britains right to extract oil and ordered the seizure of its assets. The British Navy blocked Irans ports, stalling oil export and import of food. 1953: The dirty coupFearing loss of control over its oil companies, British MI6 and the CIA orchestrate a coup to oust Mossadegh. The move upsets Iranian public bolstering its anger against Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last king of Iran. Pahlavi was seen as an American puppet.

1963: White revolutionDespite the resentment, Pehlawi was a favourite with the Americans. Pehlawi drafts the White Revolution under which much of the land belonging to feudal landowners and the crown was distributed to landless villagers. The move upset the landowning class and the clergy.

The protests introduce Islamic religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini to the world.

1979: Civil War and rise of Ayatollah KhomeiniThe protests snowball into a full-blown civil war. Two weeks later, Khomeini returns from exile. Following a referendum, Iran becomes an Islamic Republic.1979-81: 52 Americans held hostageThe US embassy in Tehran is taken over by a group protesters in November 1979. 52 American hostages are held inside for 444 days. The hostages are freed in a dramatic manner in January, 1981, the day US President Ronald Reagan takes charge. Six Americans who had escaped the embassy attack are smuggled out of Iran by a team posing as film-makers. The Oscar-winning movie Argo is based on this rescue.

1980: Iraq's attack on IranSaddam Hussain's Iraq attacks Iran with American and British support.

1988: America shoots down Iranian passenger planeAmerican warship USS Vincennes shoots down an Iran Air flight, killing all 290 people on board. US says the Airbus A300 was mistaken for a fighter jet.

2002: Axis of EvilIn his State of the Union address, President George Bush denounces Iran as part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and North Korea. The speech causes an outrage in Iran.

2013: First phone call from US PresidentIn 2013, a month after Iran's new moderate president Hassan Rouhani takes charge, US President Barack Obama calls him, the first such top-level conversation in more than 30 years.

2015: Iran Nuclear DealIran agrees to a long-term nuclear deal with a group of countries known as the P5+1 - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany.

2018: Trump dumps the Iran nuclear dealUS President Donald Trump scraps the deal before reinstating economic sanctions against Iran and threatening to do the same to countries and firms that continue buying its oil. Iran's economy falls into a deep recession.

2019: Explosions at six oil tankers in the Gulf of OmanIranian forces shoots down a US military drone over the Strait of Hormuz. US says it was over international waters, but Iran says it was over their territory.

Iran begins rolling back key commitments under the nuclear deal in July.2020: Soleimani's assassinationIran's top military commander is killed by a US drone strike in Iraq. Three days after his death, Iran launches more than a dozen missile attacks on two US military bases in Iraq.

More here:

Trump-Tehran's tussle decoded: How a share over oil spoils almost led to full-blown war - Economic Times