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The United States and United Nations flags. (Getty Images)
Middle East
Middle East
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(School of War)
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Smoke rises over a targeted site in Tehran as a series of explosions are heard on March 1, 2026. (Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump speaks to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as he oversees Operation Epic Fury at Mar-a-Lago on February 28, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Getty Images)
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(Screenshot via YouTube)
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Men watch from a hillside as a plume of smoke rises after an explosion on March 2, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Getty Images)
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A man holds a US flag and a sign with a portrait of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as members of the Iranian community celebrate in Los Angeles on February 28, 2026. (Getty Images)
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Smoke rises after Iran launched a missile attack targeting the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, on February 28, 2026. (Getty Images)
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Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for visiting President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi prior to their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on February 14, 2023. (Getty Images)
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(Screenshot via Fox News)
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An F-35C Lightning II prepares to launch from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2, 2026. (US Navy)
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A man holds a US flag and a sign with a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Getty Images)
Experts
James Barnett
Research Fellow
Michael Doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
