Shapiro served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East until January—charged with, among other things, considering scenarios in which tensions between Israel and Iran escalated into all-out war and preparing U.

US president has surrounded himself with ‘America First’ adherents, possibly influencing his appetite for war.

"Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen," the president says of the Fox News host turned podcaster

U.S. officials told multiple outlets that the Navy directed the USS Thomas Hudner, a destroyer capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where it will join the USS Arleigh Burke. A second destroyer was also ordered to change course to be available if requested.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the first to respond to the attack publicly with a statement Thursday evening — but others have yet to comment.

Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have refrained from attacking Israel directly since the start of the war between Israel and Iran on June 13. However, there have been two unclaimed attacks on US interests in Iraq since Operation Rising Lion began,

Tehran said American bases in the Middle East could face reprisals if the U.S. helped repel Iranian attacks on Israel.

Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel after Netanyahu said Israel began an operation to push back on Iran's "threat to Israel's very survival."

American consumers are likely to start feeling the impact of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran as more expensive oil causes prices at the gas pump to rise.