The ongoing conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States, now over a month old, has crossed regional boundaries, impacting nations like Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, and Qatar. As the tension escalates, the world is haunted by a singular question: Is this the dawn of the Third World War? International historians are drawing chilling parallels between today’s volatile landscape and the onset of the First World War in 1914.

Oxford Professor Margaret MacMillan notes that major wars often start not by grand design, but through accidental escalations and diplomatic misunderstandings—much like a “schoolyard fight” gone wrong. Recalling the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that sparked WWI, experts warn that the Middle East is on a similar knife-edge. Adding to the gravity, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently claimed that Vladimir Putin has already initiated World War III. With global powers increasingly polarized, the shift from a regional skirmish to an all-out global war remains a terrifying possibility.