Major Asian Cold War Turning Points
Major events
The Cold War in Asia was defined by major geopolitical conflicts and systemic transformations that established new nation-states. Landmark events such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the founding of Israel served as intense proxy battlegrounds where global superpower rivalries intersected with local struggles for sovereignty and self-determination. These pivotal milestones reshaped regional boundaries, altered international alliances, and permanently altered the political and security architecture of the modern continent.
Timeline
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Element |
Year
Age
| 1906 |
Early religious education and social activities (Hassan al-Banna, Period: 1906–early 1920s)
Detention of the Barzani clan (Period: Around 1906)
|
|---|---|
| 1910 |
Participation in the Zionist Movement (Period: Early 1910s)
Early education and recitation of the Quran (Sayyid Qutb, Period: 1910s–1920s)
|
| 1920 |
Participation in the Founding of Degania Bet (Period: 1920)
Participation in the Founding of Histadrut (Period: 1920)
Studies in France and engineering education (Mehdi Bazargan, Period: 1920s–1930s)
Entry into teacher training course and employment as a teacher (Period: 1920s)
|
| 1922 |
Arrest in Vienna on Arms Procurement Charges (Period: 1922)
|
| 1928 |
Founding of the Muslim Brotherhood (Period: March 1928)
|
| 1929 |
Joining the Haganah (Period: Circa 1929–1930s)
Joining the Betar Movement (Period: Circa 1929)
Studies at Dar al-Ulum (Period: 1929–1933)
|
| 1930 |
Teaching at Tehran University and management of the Faculty of Engineering (Mehdi Bazargan, Period: Late 1930s–1950s)
Literary and critical activities (Period: 1930s–1940s)
Expansion of the Muslim Brotherhood's political and social movement (Period: 1930s–1940s)
Participation in the Kurdish national movement (Period: 1930s)
|
| 1936 |
Appointment as Crown Prince (Farouk I, Period: Before 1936)
Accession to the Throne (Period: April 28, 1936)
Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 (Period: August 26, 1936)
|
| 1937 |
Establishment of Mekorot Water Company (Period: 1937)
Egypt's Admission to the League of Nations (Period: 1937)
Coronation (Farouk I, Period: July 29, 1937)
|
| 1939 |
Black Shabbat (Operation Agatha) / Arrest of Haganah Leaders (Period: 1939)
|
| 1940 |
Arrest and Detention by Soviet Authorities (Period: 1940–1941)
Joining and Leading the HaNoar HaOved Movement (Period: Early 1940s)
Formation of the Free Officers Movement (Period: Late 1940s–1949)
Beginning of religious education and political activities (Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Period: 1940s–1950s)
Religious education and academic research (Mohammad Beheshti, Period: 1940s–1950s)
Religious and philosophical education and influence of his father (Ali Shariati, Period: 1940s)
|
| 1941 |
Joining the Palmach (Period: 1941)
Sacrifice of Family and Relatives in the Holocaust (Period: 1941–1944)
Loss of Left Eye Incident (Period: June 1941)
|
| 1942 |
Participation in the Founding of Kibbutz Alumot (Period: Circa 1942)
Abdeen Palace Incident (Siege of Abdeen Palace by British Troops, Period: February 4, 1942)
|
| 1943 |
Appointment as Commander of Irgun (Menachem Begin, Period: 1943)
|
| 1944 |
Arrest Incident of the Negev Expedition (Period: 1944)
|
| 1945 |
Establishment of and Participation in the Arab League (Period: 1945)
Assassination of Prime Minister Ahmad Mahir by the Muslim Brotherhood (Period: February 1945)
|
| 1946 |
Alleged Involvement in the Assassination of Amin Osman (Period: January 6, 1946 (Arrest))
Black Sabbath (Mass Arrest of Jewish Leaders, Period: June 29, 1946)
King David Hotel Bombing (Period: July 22, 1946)
Assumption of leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (Mustafa Barzani, Period: August 1946)
|
| 1947 |
Arms Procurement and Personnel Management in Haganah (Period: 1947–1948)
Exile to the Soviet Union (Mustafa Barzani, Period: 1947–1958)
Acre Prison Breach (Period: May 4, 1947)
|
| 1948 |
Founding of Herut Party (Period: 1948)
Appointment as Director General of the Israeli Navy (Shimon Peres, Period: 1948)
Organization of the Ministry of Defense (Period: 1948–1949)
Appointment as Head of Settlement Department of the Jewish Agency (Levi Eshkol, Period: 1948–1963)
Allegations of Corruption and Arms Procurement Scandals in the 1948 War (Period: 1948 – early 1950s)
Siege of Faluja (Period: 1948–1949)
Studies in the United States (Period: 1948–1950)
Altalena Affair (Period: June 20–22, 1948)
Operation Danny (Occupation of Lydda and Ramle, Period: July 1948)
Occupation of Lydda and Ramle and Expulsion of Palestinian Residents (Yitzhak Rabin, Period: July 1948)
Dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood (Period: December 1948)
Assassination of Prime Minister Mahmud an-Nukrashi by Muslim Brotherhood members (Period: December 28, 1948)
|
| 1949 |
Assassination of Hassan al-Banna (Period: February 12, 1949)
|
| 1950 |
Rise as a religious leader (Period: 1950s–1960s)
Religious education and meeting Khomeini (Ali Khamenei, Period: 1950s–present)
Participation in the National Front and anti-Shah movement (Period: 1950s–1960s)
Entry into teacher training college and educational activities (Ali Shariati, Period: 1950–1952)
Joining the Muslim Brotherhood (Period: Early 1950s)
|
| 1951 |
Joining the Free Officers Movement (Period: 1951)
Cooperation in oil nationalization (Period: 1951–1953)
Adoption of the Title of King of Egypt and Sudan (Period: October 1951)
|
| 1952 |
Appointment as Minister of Finance (Levi Eshkol, Period: 1952–1963)
1952 anti-government demonstrations and arrest (Period: 1952)
Cairo Fire (Black Saturday, Period: January 26, 1952)
Free Officers Coup (Egyptian Revolution, Period: July 23, 1952)
Egyptian Revolution of 1952 (Period: July 23, 1952)
Participation in the Egyptian Revolution (Period: July 23, 1952)
1952 Egyptian revolution (Period: July 23, 1952)
Abdication and Exile to Italy (Farouk I, Period: July 26–29, 1952)
|
| 1953 |
Appointment as Director General of the Ministry of Defense (Shimon Peres, Period: 1953–1965)
Participation in the National Resistance Movement (Period: 1953–1957)
Abolition of the Egyptian Monarchy (Period: June 18, 1953)
Establishment of the Republic of Egypt (Period: June 18, 1953)
Formation and Command of Unit 101 (Ariel Sharon, Period: August 1953 – 1954)
1953 Iranian coup d'état (Period: August 19, 1953)
Qibya Massacre (Period: October 14–15, 1953)
Appointment as Chief of General Staff of the IDF (Moshe Dayan, Period: December 1953 – January 1958)
|
| 1954 |
Appointment as Commander of the Paratroopers Brigade (Ariel Sharon, Period: 1954–1957)
Writing activities while imprisoned (Period: 1954–1964)
1954 assassination attempt on Nasser and crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood (Period: October 1954)
Agreement on the Withdrawal of British Troops from Egypt (Period: October 19, 1954)
Manshiyya Square Assassination Attempt (Period: October 26, 1954)
|
| 1956 |
Appointment as President of Egypt (Gamal Abdel Nasser, Period: June 23, 1956)
Nationalization of the Suez Canal Company (Period: July 26, 1956)
|
| 1957 |
1957 arrest of individuals connected to the National Resistance Movement (Period: 1957)
|
| 1958 |
Return to Iraq (Mustafa Barzani, Period: 1958)
Establishment of the United Arab Republic (Period: February 22, 1958)
|
| 1959 |
Appointment as Minister of Agriculture (Moshe Dayan, Period: 1959–1964)
Studies in France and research at Sorbonne University (Period: 1959–1964)
Solidarity with the Algerian independence movement (Period: 1959–1962)
|
| 1960 |
Lavon Affair (Period: Occurred in 1954, politicized in the 1960s)
Construction of the Aswan High Dam (Period: 1960–1970 (Major projects during Nasser regime))
Formation of the theory of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Period: Late 1960s–1970s)
Participation in anti-Shah movement and arrest (Period: 1960s–1970s)
Studies in France, exile, and formation of political thought (Abolhassan Banisadr, Period: 1960s–1970s)
Anti-Shah activities and arrest (Period: 1960s–1970s)
Arrests and detentions of anti-government activists by the Pahlavi dynasty (Period: 1960s–1970s)
Participation in the anti-Shah movement (Period: 1960s–1979)
|
| 1961 |
Participation in the Formation of the Non-Aligned Movement (Period: 1961)
Participation in overseas activities of the Freedom Movement of Iran (Period: 1961–1964)
Demonstrations related to Algerian independence in Paris and arrest (Period: January 1961)
Establishment of the Freedom Movement of Iran (Period: May 1961)
|
| 1963 |
Appointment as Prime Minister (Levi Eshkol, Period: 1963)
Opposition to the White Revolution (Period: 1963)
1963 anti-Shah protest movement and injury (Period: 1963)
1963 anti-government movement, arrest, and imprisonment (Period: 1963–1968)
Anti-government demonstrations and crackdowns in June 1963 (Period: June 1963)
|
| 1964 |
Appointment as Chief of General Staff of the IDF (Yitzhak Rabin, Period: January 1964 – January 1968)
Strengthening Relations with the United States (Period: 1964–1967)
Arrest and detention upon return to Iran (Ali Shariati, Period: 1964–1965)
Release and publication of "Milestones" (Period: 1964)
Exile (Ruhollah Khomeini, Period: November 4, 1964)
|
| 1965 |
Establishment and Leadership of the Labor Party (Period: 1965 – 1990s)
Activities at the Islamic Centre Hamburg (Period: 1965–1970)
Teaching activities at Mashhad University (Ali Shariati, Period: 1965–1967)
Suspicions of a plot to overthrow the government by the Muslim Brotherhood (Period: 1965–1966)
Re-arrest, trial, and execution (Period: 1965–1966)
Death in Rome (Period: March 18, 1965)
|
| 1967 |
Lecturing activities at Hosseiniye Ershad (Period: 1967–1972)
Appointment as Minister of Defense (Moshe Dayan, Period: June 1, 1967)
Entry into the Old City of East Jerusalem (Period: June 7, 1967)
Resignation Announcement after the Six-Day War (Gamal Abdel Nasser, Period: June 9, 1967)
|
| 1968 |
Appointment as Ambassador of Israel to the United States (Yitzhak Rabin, Period: 1968–1973)
Establishment of the Israeli Labor Party (Period: 1968)
|
| 1969 |
Appointment as Commander of IDF Southern Command (Ariel Sharon, Period: 1969–1973)
Appointment as Vice President (Anwar Sadat, Period: 1964, 1969)
|
| 1970 |
Human Rights Issues regarding Clearing and Population Transfer in the Gaza Strip (Period: 1970–1971)
1970 Autonomy Accord (Period: March 11, 1970)
Mediation in the Jordanian Civil War (Black September, Period: September 1970)
Death of Nasser (Period: September 28, 1970)
Appointment as President of Egypt (Anwar Sadat, Period: October 1970)
|
| 1971 |
Corrective Revolution (Period: May 1971)
Assassination attempt on Barzani (Period: September 1971)
|
| 1972 |
Expulsion of Soviet Military Advisors (Anwar Sadat, Period: 1972)
Closure of Hosseiniye Ershad and re-arrest (Period: 1972–1975)
|
| 1973 |
Formation of Likud and Appointment as Prime Minister (Menachem Begin, Period: 1973–1977)
Retirement from Military and Entry into Politics (Period: 1973)
Responsibility Issue over Lack of Preparation for the Yom Kippur War (Period: October 1973 – 1974)
|
| 1974 |
Launch of Infitah (Economic Open-Door Policy, Period: 1974)
Appointment as Prime Minister of Israel (Yitzhak Rabin, Period: June 1974 – June 1977)
|
| 1975 |
Surveillance after release and emigration abroad (Ali Shariati, Period: 1975–1977)
Algiers Agreement and collapse of the revolt (Period: March 1975)
Reopening of the Suez Canal (Period: June 1975)
|
| 1976 |
Medical treatment in the United States and death (Period: 1976–1979)
|
| 1977 |
Appointment as Minister of Agriculture and Promotion of Settlement Policy (Ariel Sharon, Period: 1977–1981)
Bread Riots (Egyptian Food Riots, Period: January 18–19, 1977)
Assassination suspicions regarding the death of Shariati (Period: June 19, 1977)
Death and intellectual influence (Period: After June 19, 1977)
Visit to Israel and Address to the Knesset (Period: November 19–21, 1977)
|
| 1978 |
Awarded Nobel Peace Prize (Anwar Sadat, Period: 1978)
Iranian Revolution (Period: 1978–1979)
Participation in the Iranian Revolution (Period: 1978–1979)
1979 Iranian Revolution (Period: 1978–1979)
Iranian Revolution and participation in the Revolutionary Council (Period: 1978–1979)
Camp David Accords (Period: September 1978)
Relocation to near Paris and leadership of the revolutionary movement (Ruhollah Khomeini, Period: October 1978 – January 1979)
|
| 1979 |
Activities in the Revolutionary Council and Parliament (Period: 1979–1981)
Iranian Revolution and return to Iran (Ruhollah Khomeini, Period: February 1, 1979)
Iranian Revolution and return to Iran (Abolhassan Banisadr, Period: February 1979)
Establishment of the Islamic Republican Party (Period: February 1979)
Appointment as Prime Minister of the Interim Government (Period: February 4, 1979)
Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty (Period: March 26, 1979)
Signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty (Period: March 26, 1979)
Establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Period: April 1, 1979)
Participation in the Assembly of Experts for Constitution (Period: August–November 1979)
Appointment as Minister of Finance (Abolhassan Banisadr, Period: November 1979 – February 1980)
Iran hostage crisis (Period: November 4, 1979 – January 20, 1981)
Resignation of the Interim Government (Mehdi Bazargan, Period: November 6, 1979)
Approval of the new constitution (Period: December 1979)
|
| 1980 |
Activities defending democracy and human rights (Period: 1980s–1990s)
Assumption of the Speakership of Parliament after the Iranian Revolution (Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Period: 1980–1989)
Assumption of the office of Chief Justice (Mohammad Beheshti, Period: February 1980 – June 1981)
Inauguration as President of Iran (Abolhassan Banisadr, Period: February 4, 1980)
Election to Parliament (Period: May 1980)
Military command during the early stage of the Iran–Iraq War (Abolhassan Banisadr, Period: September 1980 – 1981)
Resignation as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Moshe Dayan, Period: October 1980)
|
| 1981 |
Appointment as Minister of Defense (Ariel Sharon, Period: 1981–1983)
Formation of the National Council of Resistance (Period: 1981)
1981 assassination attempt on Rafsanjani (Period: 1981)
Dismissal as President and exile to France (Abolhassan Banisadr, Period: June–July 1981)
Operation Opera (Bombing of the Osirak Reactor, Period: June 7, 1981)
Impeachment and dismissal of the President (Abolhassan Banisadr, Period: June 21–22, 1981)
Assassination attempt on Khamenei (Period: June 27, 1981)
Hafte Tir bombing (Period: June 28, 1981)
Death in the Hafte Tir bombing (Period: June 28, 1981)
Exile of Banisadr (Abolhassan Banisadr, Period: July 29, 1981)
Assassination of Anwar Sadat (Period: October 6, 1981)
Death of Sadat (Period: October 6, 1981)
Inauguration as President of Iran (Ali Khamenei, Period: October 13, 1981)
|
| 1982 |
Sabra and Shatila Massacre (Period: September 16–18, 1982)
|
| 1983 |
Resignation as Prime Minister (Menachem Begin, Period: September 1983)
|
| 1984 |
First Peres Government (Period: 1984–1986)
|
| 1988 |
Coordination toward ending the Iran–Iraq War (Period: 1988)
Acceptance of the cease-fire in the Iran–Iraq War (Period: July–August 1988)
|
| 1989 |
Expansion of power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Period: 1989–2026)
Post-war reconstruction and economic rebuilding policies (Period: 1989–1997)
Fatwa against Nobel laureate Salman Rushdie (Period: February 14, 1989)
Death of Khomeini (Period: June 3, 1989)
Inauguration as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Ali Khamenei, Period: June 4, 1989)
Inauguration as President of Iran (Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Period: August 3, 1989)
|
| 1992 |
Mykonos restaurant assassinations (Period: September 17, 1992 (Trial in late 1990s))
|
| 1993 |
Promotion of the Oslo Accords (Period: 1993)
Re-election as President (Period: June 1993)
Oslo Accords (Period: September 13, 1993)
|
| 1994 |
Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty (Period: October 26, 1994)
Awarded Nobel Peace Prize (Yitzhak Rabin, Period: December 10, 1994)
|
| 1995 |
Second Peres Government (Period: 1995–1996)
Death of Bazargan (Period: January 20, 1995)
Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin (Period: November 4, 1995)
|
| 1999 |
Appointment as Leader of Likud (Ariel Sharon, Period: 1999)
1999 Tehran University student protests (Period: July 1999)
|
| 2000 |
Diplomatic negotiations regarding nuclear development (Period: 2000s–2010s)
Visit to the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif and Outbreak of Second Intifada (Period: September 28, 2000)
|
| 2001 |
Appointment as Prime Minister (Ariel Sharon, Period: 2001–2006)
|
| 2005 |
Implementation of the Gaza Disengagement Plan (Period: 2005)
Formation of Kadima Party (Period: November 2005)
|
| 2006 |
Ariel Sharon's Stroke (Period: January 4, 2006)
|
| 2007 |
Appointment as President of Israel (Shimon Peres, Period: 2007–2014)
Assumption of the Chairmanship of the Assembly of Experts (Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Period: 2007–2011)
|
| 2009 |
Protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election (Green Movement, Period: June 2009–present)
|
| 2017 |
Death (Period: January 8, 2017)
|
| 2021 |
Death of Banisadr (Period: October 9, 2021)
|
| 2022 |
Death of Mahsa Amini and "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests (Period: September 2022–present)
|
| 2026 |
Death of Khamenei (Period: February 28, 2026)
Death of Khamenei and selection of a successor (Period: February 28 – March 2026)
|
Map
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Element |
Asia
World
Related Links
| Group | List |
|---|---|
| Major wars | |
| Major events |
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