The US-Israel war with Iran is no longer a two-front fight. On Day 6 of Operation Epic Fury, the conflict has metastasized into a sprawling, multi-nation crisis that now touches Europe, the Caucasus, South Asia, and the global energy supply chain. What started as a precision strike campaign against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure has become something far larger — and far more dangerous.
As of Thursday morning, the war has drawn in more than ten countries either as participants, targets, or emergency responders. France, Italy, and Greece are sending military assets to Cyprus after an Iranian drone hit a British RAF base there. Azerbaijan is preparing a “response” after Iranian drones slammed into an airport near its border. A US oil tanker was attacked in the Persian Gulf. And the UK’s first evacuation flight for stranded Britons in the Middle East failed to take off.
This is no longer just about Iran’s nuclear program. This is a widening regional war with global consequences.
Europe Enters the Fight
In a dramatic escalation of European involvement, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with the leaders of Italy and Greece on Thursday, and the three nations agreed to dispatch military assets to Cyprus. The move came after an Iranian-made drone crashed into Britain’s Akrotiri RAF base on the island — a sovereign British military installation that has served as a key staging point for Western operations in the Middle East for decades.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed that the US can use British bases for “defensive” strikes on Iran, and disclosed that Ukrainian and other specialists would assist Gulf nations in their efforts to counter Iranian drone strikes. The revelation that Ukrainian drone warfare expertise — honed through years of fighting Russia — is now being deployed against Iran marks a remarkable turn in global military alliances.
The UK’s direct involvement has also drawn sharp words from Washington. President Trump attacked Starmer publicly, saying “this is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with here” — a jab at what the White House perceives as Britain’s hesitant approach to the conflict.
Azerbaijan Becomes the First Caucasus Nation Targeted
In what may be the most alarming geographic expansion of the war, Iranian drones struck an Azerbaijani airport near the two countries’ shared border on Thursday. The attack marks the first time a nation in the Caucasus has been targeted since the war began — extending the conflict zone far beyond the Persian Gulf and Middle East.
Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement that “these attacks will not remain unanswered” and that authorities were “preparing the necessary response measures” to protect the country’s territorial integrity. The ministry confirmed it was examining the type of drones used in the strike.
The attack on Azerbaijan — a NATO partner with close ties to Turkey and Israel — risks pulling even more nations into the conflict. Turkey, a full NATO member, has already been directly affected after NATO forces intercepted an Iranian missile heading toward Turkish territory earlier this week.
Oil Tanker Attacked as Energy Crisis Deepens
Iran claimed on Thursday that it had hit a US oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, saying the vessel was on fire. While there was no immediate confirmation from the US, the attack underscores Iran’s strategy of targeting energy infrastructure to inflict maximum economic pain on the West and its Gulf allies.
The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes daily — remains effectively closed. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has declared military control over the waterway, and the IRGC has already attacked more than ten oil tankers that attempted to pass through in defiance of Iranian warnings.
Two specific vessels — the Palau-flagged Skylight and the Marshall Islands-flagged MKD VYOM — were targeted off the coast of Oman. Iran also struck the UAE’s Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, causing fires. An Iranian IRGC general warned that if joint US-Israeli attacks continue, Tehran will “hit all economic hubs in the Middle East.”
Oil prices have surged dramatically, and global energy markets are in turmoil. China is scrambling to secure alternative supply routes, Europe is bracing for an energy squeeze, and India — which depends heavily on Gulf oil — is wobbling.
The UAE Intercepts Ballistic Missiles; Saudi Arabia Vows Force
The United Arab Emirates reported that its air defense systems detected and intercepted seven ballistic missiles on Thursday. The UAE has extended closures of major attractions and suspended most commercial flights as the conflict reaches its doorstep.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with US backing, has vowed to employ military force against any further Iranian incursions, calling the Iranian strikes “cowardly” — particularly given that Saudi Arabia had closed its airspace to US and Israeli military aircraft, making Riyadh a bystander drawn into the conflict against its will.
Death Toll Climbs on Both Sides
According to Iranian state media, the death toll from five days of US-Israeli bombardment has reached 1,045, with more than 6,000 people wounded. The Pentagon has confirmed six US service members killed in action, including four soldiers killed by an Iranian drone strike and two whose remains were recovered from a facility hit during Iran’s initial retaliatory attacks.
The human cost extends beyond the battlefield. Israel’s war has expanded into Lebanon, with the IDF launching what it called a “broad wave of strikes” against Hezbollah targets in Beirut and southern Lebanon. Iran has also targeted Kurdish groups in Iraq, opening yet another front in the conflict.
Iran’s military has been devastated. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated that there is “not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman.” The US has struck or sunk more than 20 Iranian ships, including a Soleimani-class warship torpedoed by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka — the first torpedo sinking of an enemy vessel by the US Navy since World War II.
The IDF confirmed it has destroyed 300 Iranian missile launchers since the war began and hit a secret nuclear weapons development facility in Tehran identified as “Min Zadai.” Israel says 40 senior Iranian commanders have been killed, including the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.
UK Evacuation Fails; Thousands Stranded
Adding to the growing humanitarian dimension of the crisis, the first flight chartered by the UK government to evacuate British citizens stranded across the Middle East failed to take off on Thursday. No official explanation was immediately provided, but the failure highlights the chaos engulfing civilian air travel in the region.
Thousands of Americans and Europeans remain stranded across Gulf nations as commercial flights remain grounded. The US State Department had previously warned against travel to the region but has faced criticism for a slow evacuation response.
Where Does This Go From Here?
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared Wednesday that Iran “cannot outlast” the United States, telling reporters that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and that the US is “accelerating, not decelerating.” He said the campaign has “only just begun” — suggesting weeks more of strikes ahead.
President Trump has said the operation could take “four weeks or less.” But military analysts warn that the conflict’s rapid geographic expansion — from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, from the Caucasus to Cyprus — makes a clean, contained conclusion increasingly unlikely.
The Senate’s rejection of a war powers resolution this week means there is no congressional brake on the campaign. A House resolution led by Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) is expected to face a similar fate.
Meanwhile, Iran’s ceasefire feelers through the CIA — reported earlier this week — appear to have gone nowhere. The White House said it is “too late” to talk, and Trump has publicly rejected negotiations.
With European powers now deploying military assets, oil prices spiking, and the conflict touching nations from India to Turkey to Azerbaijan, Day 6 of Operation Epic Fury has made one thing abundantly clear: this war has outgrown its original mission. The question is no longer whether the conflict will spread — it already has. The question is how far.