Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the military engagement against Iran will be rapid and definitive, dismissing any parallels with lengthy conflicts in the Middle East as US and Israeli air assaults escalate throughout the area.
During an interview on Monday, Netanyahu stated, "I said it could be quick and decisive. It may take some time, but it’s not going to take years. It’s not an endless war."
The hostilities have now entered their fourth day, marked by explosions in Tel Aviv as Israeli defenses successfully intercept incoming Iranian missiles. Meanwhile, Israel has targeted a site that houses Iran's state broadcaster IRIB in Tehran and has launched attacks on Iran-aligned Hezbollah fighters in various locations across Lebanon.
The United States has joined Israel in an extensive air operation, initiating with strikes on Tehran on Saturday, which reportedly led to the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to officials from both the US and Israel. In response, Iran and its ally Hezbollah have retaliated, escalating the conflict across the Gulf region and resulting in numerous civilian casualties in Iran, Israel, and Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump initially estimated that the conflict could extend for four to five weeks but later indicated that the military offensive would be open-ended. In the most detailed remarks from him to date, Trump explained that the strikes were aimed at disrupting Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and rapidly advancing ballistic missile initiatives.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cautioned that “the hardest hits are yet to come from the US military,” indicating that Washington's actions were preemptive measures to curtail damage after gathering intelligence on Israel’s operations and foreseeing potential Iranian counterattacks on American military bases.
Rubio mentioned that current goals of dismantling Iran's ballistic missile production capabilities can be achieved without deploying ground forces, although he did not completely eliminate that possibility. "Currently, we are not postured for ground forces. But obviously, the president has those options and he is not ruling out anything," he noted.
In the early hours of Tuesday, drones allegedly launched from Iran struck the US embassy in Riyadh, causing minor damage and prompting a response from Saudi air defenses, which intercepted at least eight additional drones, according to the Saudi defense ministry. Simultaneously, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the destruction of the main command structure of a US airbase in Bahrain during what they termed the 14th wave of "Operation Promise of the Truth 4," involving the launch of 20 drones and three missiles.
The US military has reported executing strikes on more than 1,250 Iranian targets and sinking 11 Iranian vessels. Six American service members were killed in Iranian retaliation on military installations in Kuwait. In a separate incident, Kuwait mistakenly downed three US F-15E fighter jets during an Iranian assault, though all six crew members managed to eject safely and were later rescued, as confirmed by US Central Command.
The ongoing war has caused major disruptions in global air travel and energy markets. Key Gulf airports, such as Dubai International Airport, have remained shut for four consecutive days, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded, which aviation experts describe as the industry's most significant challenge since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for approximately one-fifth of global oil trade, has sharply declined as Iran intensified its attacks on vessels navigating the route. This has led to a significant surge in oil prices, record highs for supertanker rates in the Middle East, and further losses for Asian airlines as they face increasing fuel expenses and adjustments to flight routes.
Iran has rebuffed claims of pursuing nuclear weapons and denounces the US and Israeli military actions as unprovoked, asserting that such strikes occurred while negotiations for a nuclear agreement with Washington were ongoing. The US had previously exited an international accord designed to restrict Iran's nuclear developments during Trump's first term in 2018.
The escalating conflict has drawn condemnation from Russia, China, and Turkey, while public opinion polls in the United States reveal limited backing for an expanding war, raising political concerns ahead of the midterm elections.
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