The Scale of the War in the Middle East in Five Maps

The geographic scale

To show the extent of the war that the United States and Israel started with Iran, the maps in this article overlay the region onto different parts of the world.

Drag the globe or region to compare the area in different places.

Extent of the attacks

The strikes carried out by both sides in the war have stretched across a vast area of more than four million square miles, as seen in this map overlaid onto Europe.

In comparison with Ukraine

Russia has been trying to control parts of Ukraine for more than a decade. Iran is nearly three times the size of Ukraine and has more than double its population.

Note: Areas controlled by Russia and reclaimed by Ukraine are as of April 2.

Strait of Hormuz

Iran attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply moves. This map overlays the strait over the New York City area.

Lebanon, the other front

Israel’s army has demanded evacuations in areas of southern Lebanon and Beirut, which are comparable in size to New York City.

The Scale of the War in the Middle East in Five Maps

A globe centered on North America with the shapes of countries that have been targeted in the war manually placed on top. The map compares the relative size of the conflict to an area that will be familiar for most readers. The set of countries, which includes both Iran and Israel, occupies the center of the United States and spans from southern Canada to northern Mexico.