U.S.-Israel airstrikes and Iran’s response

The United States and Israel launched a coordinated attack on Iran on February 28, 2026, unleashing uncertainty in the region. The Iranian Red Crescent has estimated a death toll of more than 500, which includes Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several members of his family, as well as senior Iranian officials including the defense minister and the chief of staff for its armed forces. The wave of airstrikes targeted much of the country, including the capital, Tehran, and destroyed aerial defense systems, missile launchers and other military resources in addition to civilian structures, such as a girls' school in southern Iran. In response, Iran has fired missiles and drones at Israel, U.S. bases in the region and at the Gulf nations allied with the U.S. Iranian strikes have killed at least six members of the U.S. military. Oil prices have risen sharply after the attacks shut down oil production in Saudi Arabia and Qatar and disrupted the global energy supply.

UCLA experts can share their expertise on the latest developments along with historical and political context of the conflict.

Dalia Dassa Kaye

Kaye is a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and director of its Initiative on Regional Security Architectures. She has extensive professional experience in research, policy analysis and public policy leadership. Her expertise includes U.S. policy in the Middle East and Arab-Israeli conflict and diplomacy.

She can comment on Middle East policy and Iran nuclear diplomacy.

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Benjamin Radd

Radd is a lecturer in law at the UCLA School of Law and in global studies, international and area studies at the UCLA College. He is also a senior fellow at the Burkle Center for International Relations, a research fellow with the UCLA Center for Middle East Development and a member of the UCLA International Institute. His expertise is in the Middle East - especially Iran - and U.S. foreign policy.

He can comment on American policy in the Middle East.

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Kevan Harris

Harris is vice chair of UCLA's sociology department, where he is also an associate professor, and a member of the UCLA International Institute. He has conducted comprehensive research into social stratification and mobility in Iran. His expertise is in economic development, history and social movements in the Middle East.

He can comment on development and social change within Iranian politics and society.

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Lee Ohanian

Ohanian is a professor of economics and the director of the Ettinger Family Program in Macroeconomic Research. He is an expert in macroeconomic theory and policy, business cycles and growth, Federal Reserve policy and interest rates, and the federal budget.

Ohanian can comment on the conflict's economic impact, specifically how it impacts oil prices, the stock market and local prices in the U.S.

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Michael Ross

Ross is a professor in UCLA's department of political science and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, and is director of the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies. He is one of the world's foremost authorities in the emerging field of natural resource politics and is especially interested in democratization and the political economy. His expertise is in oil, industrialization and development studies.

Ross can comment on the conflict's impact on the economy, including oil prices,and other political and economic problems of resource-rich countries.

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James Gelvin

Gelvin is a professor of history and a member of the UCLA International Institute. His research focuses on the area of present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. His expertise is in the Middle East, Syria and Arab uprisings.

Gelvin can comment on the social, cultural and political history of the modern Middle East.

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