This is the second time President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken on the phone this month.

While Israel and Iran trade attacks, Palestinians in Gaza have been struggling to find food, connect to the internet and survive airstrikes.

MOSCOW − Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Donald Trump for 50 minutes on June 14, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.

An Iranian lawmaker said closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint in the global energy trade, was under serious consideration.

In sweeping attacks that started early Friday, Israel has struck at the regime in Tehran, targeting Iranian nuclear and military assets. The Israeli strikes have killed more than 70 people, including four top security chiefs, and damaged Iran’s main nuclear site at Natanz.

Gas prices "will likely start to rise across much of the country later this evening in response to Israel's attacks on Iran, which have caused oil prices to surge," Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said on Friday in a post on X.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was long considered Iran’s first line of defense in case of a war with Israel.

Trump swept into office hoping to be a peacemaker. Five months in, a new conflict is roiling the Middle East, with no end in sight to the war in Ukraine.

Several dozen sidelined Voice of America staffers have suddenly been called back to work as the Israel-Iran conflict escalates.

Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military sites on Friday, and the resulting oil-price surge and airline-stock slump, could pose even more obstacles for consumers navigating an already unusual summer travel season.