JERUSALEM, Israel – The Middle East is moving closer to a direct confrontation between the United States and Iran. Washington has responded to Iranian attacks with strikes inside Iran, while military preparations, diplomatic efforts, and regional alliances are all shifting rapidly.
The U.S. military struck Iranian targets in what CENTCOM called “a heavy wave of strikes,” one day after foiling an Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Jordan.
Over two hours, U.S. forces hit dozens of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets including command centers, missile and drone facilities, and coastal defense sites, aiming to reduce threats to American military personnel and the region’s security. Iranian media reported explosions across southern Iran.
Hours before, the Tehran regime had fired multiple ballistic missiles toward U.S. bases across the Middle East, while Jordan intercepted five headed toward its airspace.
Reports in Israel and elsewhere claimed that an Iranian drone struck a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker while it was unloading at Egypt’s Damietta port, sparking a fire that spread to a second vessel.
When asked about the attack, President Trump stated, “We’re going to be hitting them very hard because it’s our turn to hit them. They know it’s coming.”
The president added, “We’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point.”
Reports indicate that the White House is considering a ten-to-fourteen-day air campaign after CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper presented plans to significantly degrade Iran’s missile arsenal.
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In Washington for talks with President Trump and other officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with ABC News, declaring, “My goal is to make sure that Iran, with this regime, doesn’t have nuclear weapons. And that is something that both President Trump and I agree on because it would be a different world.”
Another key issue is Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu said he received assurances from the White House that the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal remains linked to Saudi normalization with Israel through the Abraham Accords.
Meanwhile, the Saudis are seeking an international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, while the IRGC claims it struck three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
Iran is reportedly preparing to receive up to 400 Chinese-made missiles and shoulder-fired air defense missile systems as it reguilds is short-range defenses.
Netanyahu told evangelical leaders in Washington that the world “is under attack from the rising tide of antisemitism and anti-evangelicalism,” adding that “It’s not accidental that the two are coming under a joint attack” because “we are one.”
