Is the world on the cusp of a wider global war? At present, three conflicts are heating up—two active wars (Ukraine, Iran), and one passive war (China). Some fear these heretofore separate conflicts are merging into a larger, more dangerous war. At this stage, the picture is murky but wars are like fires, if they are not quickly extinguished they spread until they burn out-of-control.
Remarkably, despite the obvious disaster of the Iran War so far Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remain simpatico. Both men met last month in the White House for the 7th time since Trump was reelected president. Netanyahu described the most recent exchange as “one of the best we’ve ever had.”
Equally troubling, Ukrainian President Zelensky reported a good meeting with President Trump at the late Senator Lindsay Graham’s funeral, a fitting backdrop for war talks. Zelensky sought Trump’s blessing for a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine to boost defenses against Russia. In typical Trump fashion, he waffled on initial commitments.
Officially, Zelensky and Netanyahu called for diplomacy but privately both demand escalation. Both leaders desperately want Trump to double down by expanding each respective front. We can only speculate about what was discussed behind closed doors but what we do know is that military operations in three conflict zones have expanded anyway:
War against Russia - Russian forces are advancing steadily to the West, blockading Odessa and Mykolaiv Ports. Kyiv now fears that if the fortress belt falls the approach to key cities including Dnipro, Kharkiv and Kyiv will open. President Zelensky is rattled because his government is falling apart
War against Iran - Following Trump’s decision to abandon June’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), multiple neighboring Arab States are entering the combat zone, and key choke points from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf extending to the Suez Canal are under threat, or directly controlled by Iran and its proxies (Houthis)
Cold War with China - For now, the White House views China as an economic competitor in the race for high technology, trade relations, and global influence so tariffs and sanctions remain Trump’s weapons of choice. Though the potential for conflict over Taiwan has receded into the background Beijing announced its support for Iran in the war, a subtle flex of China’s muscle.
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