The United States is the main international backer of Israel, Iran's biggest regional foe. It is also a close ally of Sunni Gulf monarchies which for years pursued their own rivalry with the Islamic Republic, seeing it as their main regional threat.

Interviews with half a dozen senior Iranian officials show that they were not expecting Israel to strike before another round of talks.

President Donald Trump is urging Iran to make a nuclear deal now that Israel has launched strikes against the country.

National security experts warn that Israel's attack on Iran shows why Chinese land and asset purchases in the U.S. pose a significant threat to American security.

Key right-wing figures, including some Trump allies, question the Israeli strikes and warn against a US war with Iran.

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

On Saturday, residents in Tehran reported hearing explosions, and the Iran air defense fired nonstop rounds in the Pastour neighborhood. Precise casualty figures in Iran were difficult to confirm. But Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told the U.N. Security Council that Israel’s strikes in Iran had killed 78 people and injured 329 others.

James Anderson, former acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy during the first Trump administration, told Newsweek what Iran's possible next steps may be.