The Middle East is teetering on the edge of a broad regional war. On June 12, Israel began a sustained bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, regime leadership, and oil and gas depots in an effort to—in the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu— “degrade,

“If the Middle East is unstable, the world will not be at peace,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. “If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly.”

For years, Israel contained its conflicts with Tehran, Hamas and Hezbollah. The broad assault on Iran highlights a shift in strategy.