Academic Imad el-Anis has said it will be “very difficult” for anyone in the Iran-Israel conflict to take a step back, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Iranians are essentially boxed in and will have to take some kind of action,” el-Anis, professor of international relations at Nottingham-Trent University, said. “They’ve made it clear that US military assets are now considered legitimate targets.”

He added that another “major threat would be the potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz”.

“If Iran follows through on that, the global consequences would be severe. I expect Iran to make good on both of these threats,” he added. “They’ve cornered themselves with their rhetoric and now have no viable alternative but to respond.”