Iran US Israel

The war in the Middle East is spiraling further. Israel and the U.S. are pounding Iran. Tehran and its allies are hitting back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas. The intensity of the attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the lack of any apparent exit plan indicated the conflict would not end anytime soon. It was already having far-reaching consequences. If attacked, Iran has long threatened to drag the region into total war, including targeting Israel, the Gulf Arab states and the flow of crude oil crucial for global energy markets. All of these came under attack on Monday.