BEIT SHEMESH, Israel — Even before U.S. and Israeli warplanes struck Iranian targets, officials in Washington and Jerusalem were bracing for retaliation. By Monday, less than 72 hours after the first strikes, the conflict had ricocheted well beyond the original targets in Iran, Israel and Iraq. Militias aligned with Tehran claimed strikes from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. “The regional spillover is already happening,” said Shira Efron, a Tel Aviv-based fellow at Rand, the security think tank. Drones even struck a port in Oman — long a quiet intermediary between Washington and Tehran — an attack Iranian officials blamed on a targeting mistake.

Source: Washington Post March 02, 2026 22:15 UTC