Tension between Israel, Iran could expand Middle East conflict

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — As Israel’s military pushes deeper into Gaza, there are concerns the war could spread further into the region.

Fighting against the Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah in northern Israel has intensified in the months since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7.

The White House says it has been monitoring the situation closely and is working to defuse it with regional deterrence efforts by sending warships and aircraft carriers to cool any thoughts of a larger conflict.

Nevertheless, Israel says it’s being attacked on multiple fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

This week, the White House ordered retaliatory airstrikes in Iraq in response to a Christmas Day attack at a U.S. air base that injured three U.S. troops; they are all now in stable condition.

Since then, however, there have been more attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East and ongoing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

John Bolton, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush and former national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, told NewsNation the conflict is expanding.

“(The U.S.) is in a wider war now,” said Bolton. “The White House just won’t admit the central controlling role of Iran — and that is a strategic threat to the United States.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region next week. It will be his fourth trip to the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas began.