Alexei Chepa, First Deputy Head of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee expressed hope that the United States will become preoccupied with the conflict in Iran and “forget” about Ukraine and assessed that the new conflict will likely delay a peace deal in Ukraine. (ISW, 02.28.26)

Israel regards the Russian shipment of drones to Iran far more seriously. On March 18, Israeli aircraft bombed the Iranian Caspian Sea port of Bandar Anzali, a major hub of deliveries of Russian weapons and ammunition, the Wall Street Journal claims. Israel struck vessels, a command center, and a shipyard.

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Iran has hinted it will broaden the ongoing war by striking at American commercial targets across the Gulf, rather than purely military ones.

By Mark Buckton in Taipei The ongoing war in Iran, ignited by a combination of US and Israeli strikes on a globally recognised state-sponsor of terror across the Middle East, has unleashed a destructive chain reaction with far more losers than winners.

Yet wars are not concluded only by desire. They are concluded by the balance between ambition and feasibility. If the central objective remains preventing Iran from emerging as a nuclear-capable power, then a negotiated outcome that achieves verifiable rollback may be strategically significant even if it falls short of total victory.

Follow NBC News' latest coverage on the Iran war, Trump's ground operation threats, peace talks and energy prices.

Missile and drone exchanges intensify as Iran expands strikes across Israel, causing casualties, mass injuries, and widespread damage.