As an unprecedented Israeli attack on Iran last week sparks a spiraling conflict between the two enemy states, China has seen an opportunity to cast itself as potential peace broker – and an alternative voice to the United States.

The president had opposed Israeli action against Iran but came to believe that Israel had reason to act and that the U.S. would have to lend some support.

Hundreds of civilians, mostly in Iran, have been killed by dueling airstrikes despite international pleas for de-escalation.

Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country as emergency services reported at least five killed and dozens more wounded in the fourth day of a conflict between the regional foes that showed no sign of slowing.

Iran has vowed to retaliate against the U.S., too, while Trump has warned: “If we are attacked in any way, shape, or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.” Here’s what to know about U.S. involvement so far.

President Donald Trump rejected an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials told ABC News. The officials stated that Israel shared with the United States that they had a window to kill Iran's leader but the president was not on board with the plan.

The United States Air Force has recently made a very unusual and large move. Over 30 special aircraft called aerial tankers have flown from American bases across the Atlantic Ocean. These planes are not fighters or bombers—they are flying gas stations.

BEIRUT — Iran and Israel traded air raids and ballistic missile barrages overnight and into the evening Sunday, with neither side showing any inclination to back down from an escalating grudge match between the two longtime enemies.

Countries trade strikes as tensions grow over larger Middle East conflict - Iranian missiles struck an apartment building in the Galilee region, killing four people, as the countries exchanged fire