The Middle East has experienced growing tensions as a result of competing geopolitical agendas and reciprocal meddling in the internal affairs of states. These dynamics are being reinforced by international trends, creating a vicious cycle of accusatory rhetoric, threats and proxy violence that risk descending into a full-fledged military conflict, the implications of which would extend well beyond the Middle East itself and have dire international repercussions for Europe and the international system at large.