Hundreds of civilians, mostly in Iran, have been killed by dueling airstrikes despite international pleas for de-escalation.

While the U.S. insists it is not involved in strikes on Iran, American officials have confirmed military forces have been helping to intercept Iranian missiles fired at Israel.

Spokane-born retired American diplomat Ryan Crocker anticipates the conflict between Israel and Iran will escalate in the coming days.

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.

The U.S. was represented at the UN Security Council's emergency session on Friday by State Department Senior Bureau Official McCoy Pitt, who said the U.S. was advised by Israel that the actions carried out against Iran overnight were "necessary for its self-defense."

The conflict, the most intense fighting between the two countries in decades, has been met in the United States with feelings of “frustration and helplessness,” as well as heartbreak.

Iran unleashed a barrage of missile strikes on Israeli cities early Monday, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both

President Trump said “it’s possible” the United States becomes involved in the current conflict between Iran and Israel, ABC News reported Sunday. “We’re not involved

The United States is the main international backer of Israel, Iran's biggest regional foe. It is also a close ally of Sunni Gulf monarchies which for years pursued their own rivalry with the Islamic Republic, seeing it as their main regional threat.