Iran crisis: Who are the main players after the US and Israel launched strikes against Tehran

The United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran following failed negotiations and the suppression of mass protests against the Islamic Republic.

Here are the main actors of the crisis:

President Donald Trump

The US president has tried to position himself as a global peacemaker but has consistently taken a tough stance on Iran.

Last year, its forces joined Israel’s war against the Islamic Republic by attacking nuclear sites.

During mass protests that shook Iran in January, Trump warned that he would hit “very hard” if authorities “start killing people like they have in the past.”

During his first term, Trump was the architect of the “maximum pressure” doctrine aimed at weakening Iran economically and diplomatically.

In 2018, he withdrew the United States from an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program that provided for sanctions relief in exchange for limiting Tehran’s ambitions.

While Western countries and Israel accused Iran of obtaining nuclear weapons, Tehran has constantly defended that its program was for civilian purposes.

In February, Trump restarted indirect negotiations with Iran while continuing to escalate his threats.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran’s 86-year-old religious leader has long represented the Islamic republic’s stance of defiance against its enemies, especially the United States and Israel.

Khamenei, who has been in power since 1989 and has the final say on all major state matters, has overseen the steady progress of Iran’s nuclear program by framing uranium enrichment as a sovereign right.

Expanding Iran’s regional influence in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen has been a defining feature of its foreign policy.

Khamenei insisted that Iran would “never surrender” to the United States and was skeptical of diplomacy.

During nuclear talks in 2025, he said he doubted a deal “will lead to any results,” arguing that Iran’s problems should be resolved internally.

He warned that Iran had the capability to sink American warships when talks resumed.

Khamenei refuses to give up on uranium enrichment and will not welcome discussions about Iran’s missile program.

“Americans should know that if they start a war, it will be a regional war,” he warned.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

For decades, Israel’s prime minister has described Iran’s nuclear ambitions, missile arsenal and support for militant groups as an existential danger.

Netanyahu’s push for military action came during the 12-day war last June. He argues that Israel will take action again to prevent the revival of Iran’s offensive capabilities.

Addressing the Iranian people directly in January, Netanyahu said he hoped “the Persian nation will soon be freed from the yoke of tyranny.”

This month, he warned, “If the Ayatollahs make a mistake and attack us, they will face a reaction they cannot even imagine.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly called on the Iranian people to overthrow their leaders and restore the ties the two countries had before the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Shah’s son Reza Pahlavi

The last Shah’s eldest son has positioned himself as a potential leader for democratic transition in Iran, which he has not visited since the revolution.

The former crown prince was thrust into the global spotlight during recent protests, where “Pahlavi will return” was among anti-government slogans chanted across the country.

The 65-year-old urged Iranians to join the protests and called for demonstrations abroad.

Based in the United States, he called on Washington to intervene directly to support Iranians seeking to overthrow the authorities.

“I am here to guarantee the transition to a secular democratic future,” Pahlavi told supporters in Munich in February.

Calling for “help” from Trump, he said, “It is time to end the Islamic republic.”

He remains a polarizing figure, especially within the Iranian opposition.

Pahlavi has faced criticism for his support of Israel, where he is making a highly publicized visit in 2023.

Highly critical of repression under the Islamic republic, he has never distanced himself from the abuses of his father’s era.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler shares the same view as other Gulf states: They are glad to see Iran weakened, but fear that destabilizing Iran could spark chaos in the region.

Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has traditionally had a troubled relationship with its heavily Shiite rival in the Gulf, Iran.

Prince Mohammed sparked criticism in Tehran in 2017, months after he became crown prince, when he described Khamenei as the “Hitler” of the Middle East.

But they buried the hatchet when Riyadh and Tehran restored relations in 2023 in a China-brokered rapprochement.

Regional stability has become a goal for Saudi Arabia as it pursues an economic transformation aimed at attracting tourism and trade and reducing its dependence on oil.

When a US attack appeared likely in January, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies had pressured Washington to back down, Gulf sources told AFP at the time.

Prince Mohammed later vowed not to allow attacks on Iran by Saudi Arabia, which hosts a US base.