Ukraine and Israel are pushing to link their two wars into one bigger conflict, which is bad news for anyone hoping to avoid a wider war.

• Zelensky and Netanyahu both visited Washington and are trying to tie the Ukraine war and the Iran war together into a single global fight.
• The pitch: Russia and Iran are helping each other with weapons and drones, so the US should treat both enemies as one.
• Trump says the US will hit Iran hard after Iranian-backed forces attacked American troops in the region.
• US military death and injury numbers were classified when the fighting started, and outside data suggests far more casualties than the official count admits.
• Iran is picking its targets carefully to avoid provoking Trump into a full-scale war, while Zelensky, running out of options, may be trying to drag the US in deeper.

Outlook: Expect more strikes between the US and Iran-backed forces, with continued pressure to merge the two conflicts and send more weapons to Ukraine.