Israel Palestine spills over to Iran war

Experts warn that if Israel’s war on Gaza does not end, the conflict could spill over, bringing in new players.

“Without a ceasefire in Gaza, it’s hard to see how this gets better. And I think the simmering pot is now boiling over, and it’s just going to get worse and worse as time goes on. It’s really a very dangerous moment,” Hassan El-Tayyab, legislative director for Middle East policy at Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker advocacy group in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera earlier this month.

US foreign policy also seems set on continuing its military activity, after President Joe Biden pledged last week that US attacks would continue in spite of their failure to deter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

Iran’s entanglement in several of the confrontations has also deepened worries that it could serve as a hub for regional conflict, particularly with its links to armed groups outside its own borders.

Western and regional authorities, as well as analysts, generally agree that Iran aims to steer clear of a direct military clash with the US or Israel.

However, the country appears open to employing its proxies to engage and divert the attention of the military forces of these adversaries within the region.

The primary risk of escalation arises from a potentially misguided attack either executed by Iran and its proxies or by the US and its allies.