The United States and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28 during which Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. 

Since then, the conflict has intensified. During the attacks, Shahid Hamedani School, an Iranian girls’ elementary school was likely hit by an American missile, killing 175 children and five staff members. 

Iran responded by striking U.S. and Israeli military bases across Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Six U.S. soldiers were killed in Kuwait following the strikes. 

While U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the possibility of  “liberating” Iran from the Islamic Republic, the stated motive for the conflict appeared to shift from concerns about Iran’s nuclear program to the possibility of regime change.

President Trump wrote on Truth Social that there would be no progress towards a deal unless Iran accepted “unconditional surrender.” He also told the New York Post on March 2 that he would deploy troops to Iran if necessary. 

Congress has not approved an official declaration of war. As a result, the legality of the conflict has been questioned and no clear consensus has been announced.

Protests have erupted in Iran and the U.S., condemning U.S. and Israeli intervention. Western countries have advised their citizens to leave the Middle East as soon as they can to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Iran’s strongest allies, Russia and China, condemned this conflict as a violation of international law. 

On Feb. 28, China called for an emergency United Nations meeting. Iranian United Nations Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani urged the council to act swiftly to end the conflict.

Updates on the conflict continue to emerge. While President Trump said the fighting could last four to five weeks, it remains unclear how long the conflict will continue. Trump spoke of avoiding a forever-war, but the escalation marks another instance of Western military involvement in the Middle East.