The two powers have been exchanging barrages since Israel attacked Iran and killed many of the country’s top military leaders and scientists.

Shapiro served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East until January—charged with, among other things, considering scenarios in which tensions between Israel and Iran escalated into all-out war and preparing U.

Iran launched a new wave of missiles at Israel on Saturday, wounding several people in residential buildings, while Israel said it was striking Tehran. The fresh attacks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to hit “every target of the ayatollah regime”,