War in the Middle East-Topical Guide

This topical guide provides definitions, background and guidance related to the current war in the Middle East principally involving the United States and Israel versus Iran and its proxies. It is compiled from Associated Press coverage, AP experts and the AP Stylebook.

See full AP coverage for updates and more background, context and terms. This guide will be updated with current events on the AP Stylebook Online.

Iran war, war in the Middle East, conflict in the Middle East

It is acceptable to use the term Iran war to refer to the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting Feb. 28, 2026, and Iran's retaliation. The conflict has spread with other nations and militant groups interceding, so terms like war in the Middle East or conflict in the Middle East may be most accurate, depending on the context. Rather than relying on labels and shorthand, aim to describe the situation fully.

Lowercase the word war. AP capitalizes that word only as part of a formal name.

pro-Iran, anti-Iran; pro-Israel, anti-Israel; etc.

Avoid these and other labels. These shorthand descriptions can be misleading. People can be critical of the current leadership or policies on either side and still support Iran or Israel or the U.S. When possible, try to say exactly what the individual believes.

Iran

A Middle East nation bordered by Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan. Home to more than 90 million people. Iran lies along the northern edge of the Persian Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz. It is known officially as the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is a predominantly Shiite nation with minority Christian, Jewish, Sunni and Zoroastrian populations. After its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran is governed by a Shiite theocracy with a supreme leader at its helm who has final say on all state matters. Iran holds elections for president and parliament, though candidates and proposed laws must be approved by a 12-member Guardian Council of clerics and jurists. Iran's official language is Farsi, also known as Persian. Its ethnic groups include Fars, Arab, Azeri, Baloch, Kurdish, Lur, Turkic and Turkmen people.

Israel

A Middle East nation bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the northwest, the Sinai Peninsula in the southwest, the Gulf of Aqaba at the southern tip, and the Dead Sea on the east. Its population is around 10 million.

The modern state was established in 1948 after Arab countries rejected the United Nations' partition resolution — a plan that would have divided the region into two states with Jerusalem controlled by the U.N. The Palestinians would have gotten less than half the territory, even though they were the majority of the population and owned most of the land. The state was immediately recognized by the United States and admitted to the U.N. Israel was attacked by neighboring Arab countries, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in what would become Israel fled or were forcibly expelled before and during the war. Later wars, including the 1967 and 1973 Mideast wars, further defined the de facto frontiers of Israel, which developed over the years into a regional power backed by the United States.

Israel has invaded Lebanon on different occasions and occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 until 2000. It sent ground troops into Lebanon during a war with Hezbollah that began in October 2023 and has continued to occupy five locations in southern Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect in November 2024. It seized parts of Syria for what it says was a security zone after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad in 2024.

A ceasefire agreement in October 2025 ended a two-year war between Israel and Hamas that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. That war started after Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. The war displaced most of Gaza's population and destroyed vast areas. Israel says it opens fire in response to violations of the ceasefire. Scores of civilians have been killed.

Lebanon and Hezbollah

Lebanon is a Middle East nation in southwestern Asia bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It has been a Republic since 1944. Its population is nearly 6 million. Its capital is Beirut.

A prolonged civil war (1975-1990) devastated Lebanon. Israel invaded for the first of several times from 1982 to 2000 to fight the Palestine Liberation Organization, which launched repeated attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon.

Syria also sent troops into Lebanon and remained for years. The Lebanese army seized parts of Syria after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad in 2024.

Cross-border conflict between Palestinian militants and Israel persisted after the civil war's end. The Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group founded in 1982 in response to Israel's invasion, later came to eclipse the Palestinian factions.

Until Israel killed most of its leadership, including long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah in 2024, Hezbollah was a powerful Shiite militant group closely aligned with and funded by Iran, and a major political party within the Lebanese state. The United States and European Union have designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The group is blamed for bombing the U.S. Embassy and Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983, among other attacks.

Perhaps the most heavily armed of Iran's proxies, Hezbollah had a strong presence in parts of Beirut and southern Lebanon. It had members in Lebanon's government and provided social services to people in the territory it controlled.

But after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Hezbollah fired rockets across the border in support of the militant group in Gaza. Israel's retaliation crippled the organization.

After about a year of not firing rockets into Israel, Hezbollah sent a barrage across the border following the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran starting Feb. 28, 2026. The Lebanese government slammed Hezbollah's decision to enter the war, calling the militant group's actions illegal and demanding it hand over its weapons.

Yemen and the Houthis

Yemen's Houthi rebels emerged in the 1990s as an uprising against the central government by members of the country's Zaydi minority, a branch of Shiite Islam.

The Iran-backed rebels captured much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year on behalf of the internationally recognized government. A 2022 ceasefire in that war has largely held despite it no longer being formally in effect.

After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, the Houthis began attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea along a major route for international trade. They portrayed it as a blockade of Israel in support of the Palestinians, but the vast majority of ships had no known ties to Israel or the conflict.

Since then, the Houthis have also fired dozens of long-range missiles and drones at Israel. Most have been intercepted or landed in open areas. Israel has responded with airstrikes targeting Sanaa's international airport, the Houthi-run port of Hodeida and other sites. The U.S. has also carried out airstrikes against the Houthis.

militant, militants

AP uses this term to describe Hamas, Hezbollah and other armed non-state actors. Terms such as fighters, attackers or combatants are also acceptable depending on the context. Do not use the term soldiers or resistance with reference to such groups outside of direct quotations.

boots on the ground

Avoid this jargony term, often used by U.S. politicians. It can be used in quotes.

Israeli army

The Israeli army has soldiers. It also can be called the Israeli military. Use its official name, Israel Defense Forces, and the acronym IDF only in direct quotations.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard

A paramilitary organization formed in the wake of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend its clerically overseen government. The force answers only to Iran's supreme leader, operates independently of the regular military and has vast economic interests across the country. Its branches include the expeditionary Quds — or Jerusalem — Force, the Basij volunteer militia and the country's ballistic missile force. The Revolutionary Guard is acceptable on first reference if the context makes Iran clear. The Guard is acceptable on second reference.

Israel-Iran war of 2025

Be specific when referring to the 12-day war between Israel and Iran that started June 13, 2025. Lowercase the word war. AP capitalizes that word only as part of a formal name. By attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, the U.S. intervened in the war, but the AP did not say the U.S. and Iran were at war. Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire on June 24, 2025, ending the war.

Middle East

The term generally applies to southwest Asia west of Pakistan and Afghanistan (Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the eastern part of Turkey known also as Asia Minor, United Arab Emirates and Yemen), and northeastern Africa (Egypt and Sudan).

Some consider Libya and other Arabic-speaking countries of the Maghreb to be part of the region.

Popular usage once distinguished between the Near East (the westerly nations in the listing) and the Middle East (the easterly nations), but the two terms now overlap, with current practice favoring Middle East for both areas.

Use Middle East unless Near East is used by a source in a story. Mideast is also acceptable, but Middle East is preferred.

ceasefire, ceasefires (n. and adj.)

Ceasefire is one word, without a hyphen as a noun or adjective. The verb form is cease fire. Do not refer to ceasefires as peace deals or peace agreements, as that would imply a lasting resolution to the conflicts.

Jerusalem

Do not refer to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Do not refer to the Israeli government as Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

Most countries consider east Jerusalem to be occupied territory and locate their embassies in Tel Aviv. President Donald Trump upended decades of U.S. foreign policy when he moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem in his first term. Several small countries have followed suit. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war, as the capital of a future state.

East Jerusalem is home to some of the holiest sites in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, most of which are within walking distance of one another in the Old City. Its fate is one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East conflict.

Lowercase "east" in east Jerusalem.