US and Iran now locked in 'all out war' with no boundaries, warns expert

Iran has 'nothing left to lose' after launching a 'total retaliation' campaign on the US and Israel, an expert in Middle Eastern affairs has warned.

It comes after the US suggested an Iranian attack on the Saudi city of Dhahran was 'imminent,' a major centre for the oil industry, after Donald Trump told the nation it was 'too late' to enter into discussions.

Since the beginning of February, Iran has launched drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Israel, as well as attacks on the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, after the US and Israel launched a coordinated military strike on Iranian territory.

Now, an expert has warned the situation is 'no longer localised conflict,' and has instead 'transformed into an all out war with no clear boundaries.'

The US and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Tehran, Iran (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Dr Arash Beidollahkhani, a research fellow at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, told LADbible: "Iran’s military doctrine has shifted from 'strategic patience' to 'total retaliation.'

"By launching strikes not just at Israel and US bases, but also at civilian and strategic infrastructure in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and now Saudi Arabia, Tehran is signaling that it intends to sink the entire region's stability if its own survival is at stake."

According to Dr Beidollahkhani, these attacks mark the 'final battles' for the Iranian leadership, who feel 'the system has nothing left to lose.'

Trump has suggested the conflict could be over within a matter of weeks, however Dr Beidollahkhani has branded this 'a classic overestimation of air power and a misunderstanding of Iran's strategic depth,' even after the assassination of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

"While the US and Israel have successfully carried out a devastating decapitation strike against the top leadership, history in the Middle East shows that the collapse of a central command does not equal the end of a war," he explained.

Trump claimed the conflict could be over in weeks (The White House via X Account/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"We are likely looking at a long-term war of attrition rather than a swift victory. Iran is a country of 90 million people with a rugged geography three times the size of France; it is not a state that can be pacified or reorganised from the outside in a matter of weeks."

Meanwhile, as fears of a potential World War III intensify, the expert suggested Russia in particular will benefit from prolonged conflict, that 'drains American resources and destabilises Europe’s energy security.'

The UK is said to be working closely with the US, despite Trump's comments that the relationship was 'obviously not what it was.'

It comes after Keir Starmer accepted the US' request to use the British military Air Base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which then became subject to a drone hit on Sunday night (1 March).