Israel decimated the group’s leadership last fall and degraded its military capabilities. Can the same strategy work against a far more powerful foe?

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) questioned the idea of Russian President Vladimir Putin playing a role in the negotiations between Israel and Iran, citing how Putin did “nothing” when Syria requested Russia’s aid last year.

Israel’s campaign, militarily and rhetorically, has quickly evolved beyond its initial targets. Over the weekend, it hit Iran’s energy facilities, including a gas depot and an oil refinery, triggering huge fires and spewing smoke across the sprawling capital of about ten million people.

After mulling such action for 16 years, Israel has launched air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities – a mission fraught with peril not just for the Jewish state, but for the broader Middle East.

By Alexander Cornwell, Parisa Hafezi and Jaidaa Taha TEL AVIV/DUBAI (Reuters) -An Israeli strike hit Iran's state broadcaster on Monday as Iran called on U.S. President Donald Trump to force a ceasefire in the four-day-old aerial war,

Lapid made a speech last month to Israel’s parliament, which is called the Knesset, that marked 600 days since the start of the war in Gaza. Lapid slammed Netanyahu for bringing a conflict upon Israel that didn’t exist during his own brief time in office.

The main Israeli share indices also gained, with the broad Tel Aviv 125 index closing 2.6% higher and extending Sunday's gains of some 0.5%. The rise followed a weekend of punishing Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders, which were met with retaliatory Iranian strikes against Israel.

Israel's attack on Iran lifted the dollar ahead of the weekend, but it barely rose above the previous session's high.

Hostilities between Israel and Iran entered a fourth day on Monday with no sign of easing, stoking fears of a wider war in the oil-rich region.