BY Jonathan Cortez

The decade has just begun and already the words, World War III, Draft, and Iran are trending on Twitter. With many worried that the next world war is peeking through our front window and a draft sneaking upon us, some are asking what it means for us back in the mainland. There are a number of ways this could go, and hundreds of questions you could ask. Will there be a war? Will it be the next World War? Could other countries get involved? Whether or not this situation could escalate to full WWIII status is totally unknown.

So, to start, what caused  this conflict between the U.S and Iran? Well, major worry over conflict was started recently by a US drone strike killing one of Iran’s highest ranking generals, Qassem Soleimani. Iran responded by firing over a dozen missiles at Iraq stationed US soldiers, with no casualties being reported. Now, this whole situation is still undergoing and anything could happen in the next month. So this article will answer any potential questions relating to the Iran and US conflict going on. 

So one of the biggest questions is, will this conflict escalate into a full world war?  Many politicians and other leaders fear yes. The two major powers that are feared to enter the fray are China and Russia. Why these countries? China is feared to get involved as they have been an ally since 1979. They were also the only country willing to aid them during the Iran-Iraq war, providing the country with arms and ammunitions and aiding in infrastructure, post-war reconstruction, airports, railways, roadways and energy sectors. So needless to say, China has done quite a bit to aid Iran, 

Now, how does Russia come into the mix? Russia has aided Iran similar to China, but while China mainly focused on reconstruction, Russia has heavily aided in weapons and defense production. With these two forces being strong allies to Iran, many worry that they will enter the fray. The chances of Russia and China entering the conflict aren’t too high. While they may be good allies to Iran, they don’t get too much from the country. So from the standpoint of China and Russia gaining something from their alliance with Iran, there’s not much of a chance the two nations joining. Yet from the standpoint that these two countries have already shown that they’ll aid Iran regardless of gain, these two countries have a genuine chance of entering. 

So, in terms of the conflict, there’s both high and low chances that these countries will get involved. As a junior, I turn 18 next year. Things like drafts and conflict severely alter my choices in joining the military. This conflict should alter your future outlook too. If a full scale conflict goes underway, will the US defund certain programs and jobs? If this conflict escalates to full war status, how much will the US put into the war? As teens and future adults, we need to keep a close eye on the future. Because in the blink of an eye you’re on the front lines. In the blink of an eye your neighborhood is a trench. In the blink of an eye you’re running to your basement in fear of bombs. In the blink of an eye, everything is over.