TOI correspondent from Washington: The US-Iran war has entered its most dangerous phase to date. In the latest escalation, US and Saudi Arabian forces jointly struck Iran-backed militias in Iraq after Tehran's allied groups intensified attacks on American and Gulf targets. Riyadh had long sought to avoid being drawn openly into a US-Iran war despite years of proxy confrontations. President Trump has repeatedly insisted that Washington remains engaged in talks with Iran while Tehran denies there are any talks. The First World War began with a localized crisis before alliance obligations, miscalculations and retaliatory actions transformed it into a global catastrophe.