Iraq has approached the Iranian and US governments in a bid to prevent being caught up in a regional escalation, officials said yesterday, as

Israel may be trying to take advantage of a window: Iran has reportedly not yet rebuilt air defences which were degraded by an Israeli attack in October, and Iran’s strongest proxy in the region, Hezbollah in Lebanon, has been significantly weakened by Israeli action.

Gen. Amos Yadlin, former IDF intel chief, told Fox News Digital Israel’s attack on Iran was the result of intelligence gathering that dates back decades.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was long considered Iran’s first line of defense in case of a war with Israel

"Our support for Gaza and our defense of our country against the Zionist aggression against it has continued," a Houthi source told Newsweek.

Rising tensions with Iran and fears of an Israeli strike prompted the U.S. to move some of its nonmilitary personnel out of the region.

Iraqi officials, clerics, and armed factions on Friday denounced Israel’s deadly airstrikes on Iran, warning that the escalating conflict risks dragging Iraq into a broader regional war that would undermine its fragile sovereignty.

Israel’s attack on Iran was long in the making – the result of years of meticulous planning by Israel and days of high-stakes talks between Tel Aviv and Washington, officials told CNN.

Tensions in the Middle East have intensified further as Iraq has accused Israel of violating its sovereignty by using Iraqi airspace to conduct airstrikes on Iran. The allegation comes amid ongoing military conflict between Israel and Iran,