Devastating wars in Iran and Ukraine, which show little sign of coming to an end, are escalating and expanding across the world instead. Dozens of countries are already involved in the conflicts, and more are being drawn in.
On Thursday, Poland reported a cruise missile of probable Russian origin had landed in farmland close to its border with Ukraine. On Wednesday, a US tanker in an Egyptian port went up in flames following Iranian threats against the site. Last weekend, the first known Ukrainian attack on Iran killed a sailor in the Caspian Sea.
China may be taking a more active role in hostilities, with reports suggesting it has agreed to supply Iran with air defence missiles.
Shorts
Brett McGurk, one of the top US foreign policy officials under former US president Joe Biden, said the spread of fighting was a grave concern. “I don’t want to be alarmist but there are glimpses of world war dimension, global conflict dimension,” he told CNN on Thursday.
