Iranian officials said on Friday that the United States "shall be held fully accountable" for its support of Israel after the nation took out key Iranian nuclear facilities and killed government leaders in a series of air strikes this week.

The United States has pulled some diplomatic staff and military families out of the Middle East, citing unspecified regional security risks.

Shapiro served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East until January—charged with, among other things, considering scenarios in which tensions between Israel and Iran escalated into all-out war and preparing U.

U.S. embassies and military bases across the Middle East are on high alert, as fears grow about an Israeli strike on Iran.

As of mid-2025, there are about 40,000 to 50,000 US troops in the Middle East, comprising personnel stationed in both large, permanent bases and smaller forward sites across the region.

The S&P 500 ended lower on Wednesday, with investors spooked by Middle East tensions, while a tame inflation report calmed concerns around tariff-driven price pressures and traders awaited more details on China-U.

The Ukrainian president says he was informed the U.S. would divert key defensive weapons from Ukraine to the Middle East.

During his visit to the Middle East in May, U.S. President Donald Trump did several things that few would have predicted months or even weeks earlier. One was his surprise meeting with Syria’s new leader,