After Donald Trump warned that Iran would face a very powerful strike with a wider range of targets, it quickly became clear that this was no ordinary military operation and that the strikes were aimed directly at the country’s critical infrastructure.

After months of skirmishes, tit-for-tat attacks, and failed talks, Pakistan has declared an open war on Afghanistan’s Taliban government, with both sides exchanging deadly strikes during Ramadan that have hit sites in both capitals and left scores dead.

As Iranian strikes expanded beyond U.S. bases in the Gulf and official threats of military retaliation mounted, questions intensified over whether the Gulf states might be drawn—against their will—into the fire of war.

Riyadh is no longer willing to position itself within “Israel’s” camp or play a subordinate role in regional arrangements, instead seeking to act as an independent power able to maneuver and impose its own terms.

After months of obstruction, "Israel" surprised Cairo by approving a long-frozen gas deal worth an estimated $35 billion through 2040, reviving an agreement shelved by Energy Minister Eli Cohen on Netanyahu’s orders after firm American pressure.