Day four and there’s no sign of let up in the Middle Eastern war, with Iran continuing to retaliate against US and Israeli attacks with missile and drone strikes across the region.
As the death toll rises, the economic cost grows and the stress in financial markets deepens, the White House is under increasing pressure to specify its aims more clearly.
If President Donald Trump is insistent on overthrowing the Islamic Republic’s government — as he implied when the bombing began on Saturday — that would suggest a longer conflict and a slim chance of Iran reining in its response.
The US State Department added to confusion among Americans in the region when an official posted a message on X saying that those in countries including Egypt, Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia should “DEPART NOW.” Yet, the State Department hasn’t changed its guidance on its website or posted that announcement itself.
There are also growing questions over what exactly led to the US and Israel’s decision to start their military campaign over the weekend.
Marco Rubio, Trump’s secretary of state, said late yesterday that Israel was poised to attack Tehran and Washington felt it would have to join in to prevent counter strikes against American forces and bases.
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio told reporters.
Iran’s foreign minister responded by saying the US had “entered a war of choice on behalf of Israel.”
Washington’s allies also questioned the justification for military action, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer implying the war is unlawful, while Spain’s foreign minister urged Europe to speak out against the ongoing airstrikes.
Whatever the case, the US and Israel are striking Iran hard. And Iran, for now, is proving it’s more than capable of firing back. — Paul Wallace