In many ways, it’s conceivable that Israel's Operation Rising Lion will alter the military balance of power in the Middle East more so than the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

The dollar firmed against major currencies on Monday, driven by safe-haven buying from investors fearing the Israel-Iran fighting could escalate into a broader regional conflict as they braced for a week packed with central bank meetings.

It’s too soon to tell how exactly the current wave of Israeli strikes could transform the region, but one thing is clear: Israel’s actions have fundamentally reshaped the security landscape of the Middle East.

"The full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before," Trump warned.

The U.S. was represented at the UN Security Council's emergency session on Friday by State Department Senior Bureau Official McCoy Pitt, who said the U.S. was advised by Israel that the actions carried out against Iran overnight were "necessary for its self-defense."

It's often more important in times of heightened tensions in the Middle East to look more at what is not happening, rather than fixating on the dramatic headlines of tit-for-tat air and missile strikes between Israel and Iran.

The conflict, the most intense fighting between the two countries in decades, has been met in the United States with feelings of “frustration and helplessness,” as well as heartbreak.

Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear and military sites have pushed the long-simmering rivalry into open warfare, with Tehran retaliating and hitting key Israeli cities. With the US trying to balance diplomacy and deterrence,

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran

Israel decimated the group’s leadership last fall and degraded its military capabilities. Can the same strategy work against a far more powerful foe?