India, March 3 -- The United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on Saturday, leading to an escalation in tensions in the region. The conflict has so far resulted in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following which Tehran launched retaliatory strikes on US military installations in Gulf countries, including UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan.

On uncertainty regarding the end of the conflict, both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have signalled that it could last for "weeks."

In a brief telephone interview with The New York Times, Trump, when asked how long the US and Israel could maintain the intensity of the assault, said, "Well, we intended four to five ...