"The collapse of even this minimal understanding could remove the last barrier between episodic confrontation and a forever war."

The latest escalation comes days after a fragile truce collapsed, raising the specter of a return to full-scale war, though analysts generally see that as less likely

The U.S. and Iran traded heavier strikes Thursday as a weeklong escalation threatened to unravel last month's truce, though Tehran's release of a...

United States intensified strikes against Iran, hitting targets farther north. Iran retaliated with missiles and drones at US allies in the region. The interim ceasefire…