The Middle East is teetering on the brink of renewed conflict as Donald Trump considers launching fresh military action against Iran after Tehran rejected the latest American peace proposals.
Iranian military commanders claim they have already deployed 10,000 drones to regular Artesh army units in preparation for a potential American-Israeli assault, amid growing fears the fragile ceasefire could collapse entirely.
The drones are believed to have been positioned in advance for use against foreign ground forces in the event of a wider regional war.
The latest escalation came after Trump reportedly dismissed Tehran’s response to a US settlement plan as “garbage”, fuelling speculation Washington may now return to direct military pressure.
Iran is understood to have demanded that the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah be included in any future agreement, while also seeking to delay discussions surrounding its nuclear programme.
The deteriorating diplomatic picture has intensified concerns across Western intelligence circles that Tehran may increasingly rely on asymmetric warfare tactics, including cyber attacks and AI-driven disruption campaigns.
One intelligence assessment reportedly warned Britain could become a prime target because of its close alignment with Washington.
The Daily Mirror reported: “For the United Kingdom, the threat is likely to manifest through attempts to disrupt public services, target universities, compromise research networks, intimidate diaspora communities, and probe firms linked to defence, energy, finance and telecommunications. The UK’s close alignment with Washington makes it an attractive target for retaliation, espionage and coercive signalling.
“Iranian AI-enabled cyber activity could be used not merely to steal information, but to create political pressure, embarrass institutions, disrupt essential services or undermine confidence in government competence during a wider Middle Eastern crisis.”
According to the assessment, Iranian cyber operations could seek to disrupt public services, compromise universities and research networks, intimidate diaspora communities and probe companies linked to defence, finance, telecommunications and energy infrastructure.
Officials fear such tactics would allow Iran to retaliate below the threshold of conventional war while still imposing economic and political costs on Western governments.
At the same time, military preparations in the region appear to be intensifying.
Reports suggest six US military Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft have landed in Israel over the past 48 hours, a move likely to be interpreted as preparation for sustained air operations should hostilities resume.
The renewed tensions come amid mounting alarm over the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which a significant share of the world’s oil and fertiliser materials passes.
Disruption to the route has already sent energy prices sharply higher and sparked fears of a broader global economic shock.
United Nations Office for Project Services has warned that prolonged instability around Hormuz could trigger a major humanitarian crisis affecting tens of millions of people.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, the agency’s executive director, said the world had only “a few weeks” to avoid catastrophe.
“We may witness a crisis that will force 45 million more people into hunger and starvation,” he warned.
The warning reflects concerns that blockages to fertiliser shipments — particularly ammonia and sulphur moving through Hormuz — could severely disrupt agricultural production and global food supply chains.
The latest developments underscore how rapidly the confrontation between Iran, Israel and the United States is expanding beyond a purely military conflict into a wider geopolitical and economic crisis with potentially global consequences.
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