The Middle East is teetering on the edge of a broad regional war. On June 12, Israel began a sustained bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, regime leadership, and oil and gas depots in an effort to—in the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu— “degrade,

“If the Middle East is unstable, the world will not be at peace,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. “If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly.”

For years, Israel contained its conflicts with Tehran, Hamas and Hezbollah. The broad assault on Iran highlights a shift in strategy.

However, the crown jewel of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme, a sprawling uranium enrichment facility built deep under a mountain in Fordow remains out of reach of Israel’s conventional weapons. It can only be destroyed with American “bunker-buster” bombs carried by B-2 Stealth fighters.

After nearly two years of stark divisions over the war in Gaza and support for Israel, Democrats are now finding themselves at odds over U.S. policy toward Iran as progressives demand unified opposition to President Donald Trump's consideration of a strike against Tehran's nuclear program while party leaders tread more cautiously.

The second week of the Israel-Iran war has started with a renewed round of strikes despite talks between European ministers and Iran’s top diplomat