A source inside the Pentagon has warned Daily Express US that "we are on the brink of World War 3" amid surging conflict in the Middle East sparked largely by Iran.
The warning comes as Iranian-backed proxies destabilise the Middle East by attacking Israel and US targets, as well as international shipping in the region.
Iran itself has also carried out strikes in neighbouring Iraq and Pakistan as well as Syria sending tensions soaring.
Defence expert Nicholas Drummond echoed concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could potentially escalate but warned that if Tehran directly attacked Israel, the ensuing war would be “the end of Iran”.
Speaking to Daily Express US, he said: “Iran's agenda in the region, and globally, has been exposed. And Iran is on the back foot.
"The West is saying to Iran 'behave yourself, or we will attack you directly'.
"I think it's highly possible that if Iran continues to act through proxies, or to act directly, that threatens Western interests, we could see military action taken against Iran, and that would be a major conflict in the Middle East."
It’s unclear whether Iran is prepared to engage in such a conflict which, according to Mr Drummond, would spell disaster for the regime in Tehran.
He added: "I think Iran has to be very, very careful. It has been playing a dangerous game. And it's about to get punished if it doesn't step back.
"You saw that [Iran] fired a missile into Syria and… it was ostensibly taking out rebel targets but it was [also] demonstrating, it has a missile capable of reaching Israel from Iran that could have with a nuclear warhead - it could target Tel Aviv.
"That's the message it's sending. And, of course, if Iran did that, it would be the end of Iran, frankly."
Mr Drummond branded Iran as "the biggest threat to world peace" at the moment.
The stark assessment of the situation in the Middle East comes as Iranian proxies target the US and Israel in and from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and elsewhere.
In addition, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have wrought havoc on international shipping by attacking civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
In the past days, Iran has directly struck targets in neighbouring Iraq and Pakistan as well as in Syria sending fears of a direct confrontation soaring.
The US has responded previously by striking Iranian-backed militants in Syria and Iraq after Washington’s military assets in those countries came under fire.
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