Donald Trump’s war with Iran is fast becoming global, with more than a dozen other countries in the firing line or mobilizing their armed forces, as Tehran fights back.
The UK, France and Spain are sending warships, jets and troops to the region to bolster their defenses and protect their allies, while states across the Middle East, as well as Cyprus, Turkey and Azerbaijan, have been affected by Iranian drones and missiles.
With an American submarine sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, it does not restrict its strikes against the Islamic regime to any geographic boundary.
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Warnings of World War III have long been sounded Russia launched its full-scale offensive Ukraine Four years ago.
Fears the conflict could spill over to neighboring NATO states in Europe, drawing the nuclear-armed alliance into direct confrontation with Moscow, which has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons.
This risk remains.
But the US president’s decision to strike alongside Israel has made the world even more inflammable Iran With a ferocity of firepower that surpassed the early days of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Since the fighting began on February 28, the US military has said it has hit more than 3,000 targets. Israeli warplanes have also carried out hundreds of leaks. attack Ali took Khamenei’s lifeIran’s Supreme Leader, in the opening salvo.
Plumes of smoke rise as strikes hit the Iranian capital, Tehran, on March 5. Image: AP
In response, Iranian forces have fired several waves of missiles and drones against US forces and Israel in the region, but also against Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, where Muscat has previously played a key role in talks between Tehran and Washington.
Iran’s president apologized to his neighbors on Saturday and said there would be no further strikes against him, saying any attacks targeting his country had not originated from US forces in their respective territories. However, Iranian missiles continue to hit the Gulf states, perhaps not with the same intensity.
The US military says it has already seriously reduced Iran’s ability to strike Mr. Trump A warning of more devastating strikes to come
However, the Iranian side is vowing to continue the fight rather than listen to US demands for surrender.
President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on March 7. Image: AP
Pete HegsethThe self-styled US war secretary said the US operation would last eight weeks – an indication of the sheer number of targets the US must muster.
Mr Trump has vowed to destroy all Iranian missile and naval capabilities and prevent the country from ever having a nuclear weapons programme.
However, as the attacks continue, the risk of a miscalculation that could trigger an even wider war increases.
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Battle lines in the Middle East already have crossovers with Russia’s war in Europe, though they haven’t really reached Asia, with China offering a muted response so far.
Moscow has received weapons from Tehran for years, but Kyiv is backed by a coalition of allies including the UK, France, Germany, Australia and Canada. The US is a major source of munitions for Ukraine.
Now reports are emerging of Russian forces providing Iran with intelligence that could help Tehran target American warships, troops and bases in the Gulf. At the same time, the US has asked Ukrainian soldiers for support in countering Iranian drones.
These alliances and allegiances underscore the complexity of the mess — and what a dangerous moment this is.
