The fragile truce between the US and Iran has come under further stress in the Gulf, with American forces striking Iranian drones and radar sites, and Iran firing missiles at US bases in the Gulf.

Gulf hostilities flared again with diplomacy to halt the war showing little sign of progress.

A small, elite band of mostly current or former senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard have consolidated their grip on the country.

Operation Epic Fury has been militarily successful but securing a settlement, a peace deal or even just a framework agreement has been less of a triumph.

Izz al-Din al-Haddad, whose wife and 19-year-old daughter were also killed, had survived multiple assassination attempts by Israel, according to Hamas sources.

Xi Jinping hasn’t forgotten what happened when he rolled out the red carpet for Trump’s China visit in 2017. Trump responded with tariffs on $US200 billion in imports.

Isaac Herzog warns extremist and inhuman behaviour is being normalised and even celebrated by some in Israel, and violent conduct is “threatening to enter the mainstream”.

Experts say the damage at more than 200 sites suggests the US military had underestimated Iran’s targeting abilities, not adapted sufficiently to modern drone warfare and left some bases under-protected.

The world is paying a high price for illegal wars of hubris which did not need to be waged. Meanwhile, China marches on without firing a shot.

As soon as the US president declared an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the two countries undercut his latest boast about dictating the terms of a truce.

Among the first issues to be negotiated during the 60-day window is what will happen to Iran’s highly enriched uranium, sources say.

The deal on the table with Iran isn’t a nuclear deal, and it won’t limit Tehran’s missiles. It is about the best both sides can manage for the time being.