Caught between diplomacy and deterrence, the US tries to manage the consequences of an ally’s war it claims not to support

Though he tried to keep Washington's hands clean, U.S. President Trump necessarily gave his green light for the unprecedented operation against Iranian nuclear targets. It's a victory for the foreign policy hardline faction,

A statement released by Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed no solidarity with Israel. The response may reflect a certain irritation with Netanyahu, who, by ordering the strikes, has undermined negotiations with Tehran that Trump relaunched in March.

As missile exchanges escalate, conflicting accounts emerge over Washington’s role in Israel’s assault on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, according to a report

President Donald Trump acknowledged in a social media post that he gave Israel the go-ahead to attack Iran, going against claims from his own administration officials. Israel deployed 200 fighter jets to target Iran's nuclear programs and kill multiple top military leaders,

Israel's aerial assault on Iran is widely viewed as an act of naked aggression with no basis in international law, carried out unilaterally despite US opposition and aimed at derailing ongoing US-Iran nuclear negotiations,

Protesters hold images of nuclear physicist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, left, Revolutionary Guard Corps leader Hossein Salami, center, and Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, right, overall commander of Iran's armed forces, in Tehran's Enghelab Square after the three men and others were killed in Israeli strike on Monday. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

The strikes came after the Israeli military said it had carried out fresh strikes on Iran nuclear infrastructure sites.

5:00 p.m. EDT Iran U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the U.N. Security Council that 78 people are dead and 320 are injured, acknowledging the deaths of military officials and nuclear scientists but noting “the overwhelming majority” of the dead are civilians.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has warned that Israel faces a ‘bitter and painful’ fate following the attack.