The United States decisively entered into conflict with Iran on Saturday after President Donald Trump ordered US warplanes to drop massive bombs on three nuclear sites inside the country, thrusting him squarely into an escalating Middle East conflict even as he holds out hope the matter can be resolved diplomatically.

By bombing three nuclear sites in Iran, the United States has joined Israel’s war against the country. Now it is bracing for Iranian retaliation.

President Donald Trump has long advocated for keeping the US out of Middle Eastern wars. By joining Israel’s offensive against Iran, he is making a dramatic geopolitical u-turn.