World War 3 fears have intensified over an escalating major conflict which could affect the whole of the Middle East.
Dr Simon Mabon, a professor of Middle Eastern politics at Lancaster University, said recent escalation in the Yemeni conflict between a Saudi Arabia-led coalition and Houthi rebels could impact the entire Middle East.
The past week has seen a massive ramp up in violence after Houthi rebels claimed to have fired a missile at Abu Dhabi, a popular tourist hotspot.
Saudi Arabia retaliated by stepping up air strikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa.
Speaking to ABC News Australia, Dr Mabon said: “Well I think it throws everything up in the air to be honest.”
He added that the death of the country’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, which Houthi rebels took credit for, would create even more instability in the region.
He said: “I think that Saleh has played such a pivotal role in the nature of Yemeni politics and also I guess the nature of Arabian politics, drawing in the Saudis, the Iranians, the Emiratis.
“His death is just going to cause a great deal of uncertainty to those actually caught up in the Yemeni conflict, those actors that are fighting but also the people who are living in Yemen in really difficult conditions.”
But the conflict, which is seen as a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, could also affect the entire region, the professor warned.
He said: “But also those at a broader regional level, so there’s a great deal of uncertainty that’s really blowing across the Middle East right now.”
Saudi Arabia and its allies view the Houthi rebels as an Iranian proxy on its doorstep. Iran supports the Houthis but denies arming them.
The rivalry between the two regional powers has amplified the conflict which, along with tensions between North Korea and the United States, has sparked World War 3 fears.