Israel’s strike on Iranian nuclear and military facilities has pushed West Asia one step closer to a far wider, more dangerous regional war. It also has implications for recent US diplomatic efforts toward a deal with Tehran over its nuclear program.

The two powers have been exchanging barrages since Israel attacked Iran and killed many of the country’s top military leaders and scientists.

As the head of the secretive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami, was one of the most powerful men in Iran, overseeing its most potent military arm and reporting directly to its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.