Iran: The Making of a War

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s documentary “Iran: The Making of a War” looks back across more than seven decades to explain how Iran’s long-running confrontation with the United States, Israel and regional rivals developed into one of the Middle East’s most dangerous conflicts. The film begins with the 1953 CIA-backed coup that removed Mohammad Mosaddegh and set Iran on a different political path under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The documentary then follows the 1979 Iranian revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the break in relations with Washington after the hostage crisis. From there, it traces the expansion of tensions with Israel, including proxy wars, covert actions and disputes over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, as the rivalry deepened over time. The program uses archival footage, expert commentary and a range of perspectives to present the conflict in chronological order.

According to Al Jazeera, the film focuses less on assigning blame than on showing how miscalculations, competing strategies and distrust turned earlier cooperation into confrontation. It highlights the human toll, the destabilizing effect on the Middle East and the broader international risks linked to continued escalation.

Published on Aug. 1, 2026, the documentary is framed as an explanation of how a regional dispute grew into a crisis with possible consequences for global security and the world economy.