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.

Before Israeli strikes on Friday, Washington and Tehran had held several rounds of talks on Iran's nuclear programme, as concerns mounted about its rapid expansion.Iran has significantly ramped

OHIO/WASHINGTON D.C. — Ohio lawmakers have reacted to Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear and missile sites. We will have the latest developments from the Middle East this morning on News Center 7 Daybreak from 4:25 a.m. until 7 a.m.

By Crispian Balmer, Parisa Hafezi and Steve Holland JERUSALEM/DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israel launched widescale strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders and that this was the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

As the head of the secretive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami, was one of the most powerful men in Iran, overseeing its most potent military arm and reporting directly to its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In contrast to his first term, Trump is keeping Netanyahu at a distance and has already, on a number of occasions, disregarded the Israeli leader's recommendations.

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

The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board of governors on Thursday formally found that Iran is not complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran later this year.