Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker has said the United States’ decades-long standoff with Iran cannot be viewed as a recent development, arguing that Washington’s confrontation with the Iranian regime has persisted for nearly half a century.
Speaking during an interview FROM 5:39 on Fox News on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Volker traced the roots of the conflict back to the 1979 hostage crisis, when Iranian militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage for 444 days. He described that event as the beginning of a prolonged period of hostility that has continued through successive U.S. administrations.
Volker made the remarks while discussing the escalating military confrontation between the United States and Iran following ten consecutive nights of U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets. As the conversation turned to Washington’s broader strategy, he argued that the current conflict should be understood within the context of a decades-old geopolitical rivalry rather than as an isolated military campaign.
According to the former ambassador, the Iranian regime has consistently pursued policies that have put it at odds with the United States and its allies across the Middle East. He contended that Tehran has continued to project influence through regional proxy groups, threaten neighboring countries, challenge maritime security, and pursue capabilities that have repeatedly raised concerns in Washington and among its partners.
Volker suggested that while previous military operations may have disrupted parts of Iran’s nuclear programme and temporarily reduced some of its capabilities, they have not fundamentally altered the behaviour of the country’s leadership. In his view, the underlying challenge remains the nature of the regime itself, which he argued has maintained the same strategic posture despite years of sanctions, diplomatic efforts, and military pressure.
He further noted that many of America’s regional allies, particularly the Gulf states, have long viewed Iran’s actions as a source of instability and continue to believe that the international community must adopt a comprehensive approach to addressing the threat posed by Tehran.
Summing up his assessment, Volker said the current conflict is another chapter in a struggle that began nearly five decades ago.
In his words “For 47 years, ever since they took our diplomats hostage, we have had a problem with the Iranian regime. It was fairly stable and we had knocked back their nuclear program just with the strikes last summer. But this regime is not going to change character….See More