2026 Iran war

Since 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel have been at war with Iran and its regional allies. Hostilities broke out after US–Israeli airstrikes killed several Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The strikes were launched amid ongoing US–Iran negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program. The war is part of a Middle Eastern crisis sparked by the Gaza war. It follows the Twelve-Day War and was preceded by the largest US military buildup in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. US justifications for initiating the war included a response to the crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, regime change, and taking Iran's oil and gas resources. Critics have rejected these justifications, maintaining that the attack initiated a war of aggression, in violation of international law. Following a decentralized strategy, Iranian units responded with a series of missile and drone attacks against Israel and US military bases in the Middle East, US allies in the Middle East, and by blocking the Strait of Hormuz and subsequently claiming sovereignty over it in late March. Following the strikes on their territory, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain also attacked Iran and skirmished with its Iraqi non-state allies. Two days after Khamenei's assassination, fighting resumed between Hezbollah and Israel. Israel began occupying southern Lebanon in March. An escalation of the Yemeni civil war by the Iran-backed Houthi forces in September started the Strait of Bab al-Mandab crisis. The war has resulted in thousands of civilian and military casualties. The economic impact of the war included the largest supply disruption of the global oil market, disruptions of the natural gas, fertilizer, aviation, and tourism industries, and volatility in financial markets. As of June 2026, the cost of the war to the US...