Israel may be trying to take advantage of a window: Iran has reportedly not yet rebuilt air defences which were degraded by an Israeli attack in October, and Iran’s strongest proxy in the region, Hezbollah in Lebanon, has been significantly weakened by Israeli action.

Tension in the Middle East remains high, as Iran and Israel exchange fire. Iran says that the U.S. is complicit in the initial Israeli strike on their nuclear program, Iran will no longer participate in the sixth round of nuclear talks with the U.