With questions mounting over the impact of the U.S. and Israeli onslaught on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military infrastructure, a return to hostilities could be a matter of when, not if.

After twelve days of intense strikes between Israel and Iran – punctuated by the United States’ bombing of Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend and Tehran’s performative retaliation – a US-brokered ceasefire appeared to be holding on Tuesday.

This week’s whipsaw chain of events involving Iran, Israel and the United States that culminated in a surprise ceasefire has raised many questions about how the Trump administration will approach the Middle East going forward.