APTOPIX India Iran US Israel

U.S. Marines are being deployed to the Middle East as American and Israeli strikes pound Iran. The Islamic Republic's attacks Persian Gulf shipping and energy infrastructure as the two-week war widens. In Iran's capital, a large explosion rocked a central square where thousands gathered for anti-Israel protests. The death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon has topped 700 people including 100 children, the Lebanese Health Ministry says. And the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, sharply reducing energy supplies and threatening to destabilize economies around the world. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that the conflict would end “when I feel it in my bones.”