‘Has World War III just begun?’: Escalating US-Iran conflict sparks social media panic

A world war is an international conflict involving most or all of the world’s major powers. Traditionally, the term has been applied exclusively to the two major international conflicts that occurred in the first half of the 20th century: World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945).

Also read: Where is Iran’s goal? Vows to ‘deliver historic lessons’ to Israel and US, all retaliatory strikes

“Is World War III about to begin? Is the end of the world coming? If so, should we stop doing any office work?” one person asked. “president Donald Trump issued an 8-minute statement confirming that they had begun attacking Iran with Israel. This could be the beginning of World War III. ” another X user commented.

“The Germans realize they are not responsible for World War III,” said a third user.

Another netizen commented: “It’s two months into the new year and World War III has already begun.” Another netizen responded.

Israel did not act alone in today’s attack. The United States also participated in the attack on Iran.

Trump announced on Saturday that the United States had begun “major combat operations” in Iran with the goal of eliminating the “imminent threat” posed by the Iranian regime.

In a social media video, the US president declared the operation “massive and sustained” and pledged to deploy “overwhelming force and destructive force” to destroy Iran’s missiles and prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was aimed at “eliminating the existential threat posed by Iran’s leadership” as he exhorted the Iranian people to overthrow the government.

Meanwhile, several countries, including Italy, Germany, Poland, Kazakhstan, India and China, are advising their citizens to evacuate Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who leads the Iranian delegation in the nuclear negotiations, pledged that Iran would protect itself from attacks by Israel and the United States.

“Netanyahu and Trump’s war against Iran is completely unprovoked, illegal and unlawful. Trump has turned ‘America First’ into ‘Israel First’ – which always meant ‘America Last’. Our powerful armed forces are ready for this day and will teach the aggressor the lesson he deserves,” he said in a resolute statement shared on social media.