We need to talk about World War III - it's closer than you might think

Diplomacy is being replaced by military action, while local conflicts threaten to spread into surrounding regions. Chris Hughes analyses the increasing prospect of outright war

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The results of a missile attack in Erbil, Iraq. Photo: Karzan Mohammad Othman/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Doomsday Clock, set by nuclear scientists to predict world self-destruction, has stood at 90 seconds from midnight for more than a year.

It means we are at the closest we have been to World War III since the Second World War ended – and in the background all the main players are making ready.

Diplomacy first and then leverage are likely to be the two factors that will have a chance of bringing us back from the brink, but could it already be too late?

Diplomacy is mainly about talking and there is little of that between Russia, Iran and the West – so what of leverage? The West's enemies only really respect strength.

Is the danger of a wider Middle East conflict exploding into the outer region, sucking Russia and Iran further into conflict against western allies?

And what of Ukraine’s agonisingly glacial counter-offensive, though stalwart, brave and determined, is it enough to warn off Russia from being more ambitious against NATO?