Trump's War Drags On: America's Existential Crisis Ignites Global Conflict

The Middle East is embroiled in a conflict that's spilling across borders to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, and various Gulf countries. The US-Iran conflict has drawn in Saudi Arabia, which was initially seeking to keep it at bay.

Riyadh recently joined Washington to target the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces in Iraq, following strikes against Houthi forces in Yemen in response to attacks on Saudi oil tankers using Red Sea shipping routes. Experts predict that Riyadh will launch a wider offensive against the Houthis in the coming days.

This risks escalating into a region-wide conflict with sectarian contours, reversing US President Donald Trump's earlier boast that the war would be over within weeks.

Security analysts now predict an up-to-a-decade-long conflagration. Pakistan will find itself drawn into this quagmire with each development, given its mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia and participation in a newly formed maritime defense alliance.