Iran’s brazen attack directly targeting Israel on Saturday means that the one thing President Biden most feared and desperately sought to avert in the wake of the 7 October Hamas attack has happened – an escalation of the conflict to the wider region.

For the US president, the tightrope he was walking on the Israel-Gaza war has got even thinner, as he seeks to both de-escalate the situation and deter Iran, while facing domestic pressure from both left and right over the relationship with Israel. Any ceasefire deal in Gaza, meanwhile, hangs in the balance.

Just two weeks ago, it appeared that the US-Israel relationship – once the closest of close allies – was in serious trouble.

President Biden was expressing not just frustration but also outright anger at the lack of humanitarian aid getting into Gaza and the killing of seven aid workers in a strike by the Israel Defense Forces.

The level of disagreement was such that the administration made clear it could reconsider its stance towards Israel, and possibly even withhold arms exports.

But Iran’s action at the weekend seems to have changed all that.

The barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones fired at Israel prompted a highly successful, hand-in-glove military action by the US and Israel to defend the country.

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