When Does It Count As WWIII

Editor, Times-Union:
This year, Ukraine got involved in the Iran War by bombing Iranian shipment vessels allegedly carrying weapons between Iran and Russia while Russia has been pushing to resupply Iran’s weapons. The U.S., meanwhile, has been going after countries, like Iran and Venezuela, that provide China with oil. Keeping in mind that all these countries are allies or enemies in some way or another, it’s probably worth asking: At what point do the current wars count as WWIII?
Either through the U.S. conducting military exercises with Japan and the Philippines, or China selling military equipment to Russia, the lines are clearly being drawn for military alliances. However, since Russia is waging a war in Ukraine and the U.S. is engaged with Iran, these are open conflicts as opposed to mere trading or theoretical alliances. In short, it really does seem like WWIII is already happening now.
To leave off, this isn’t necessarily as catastrophic as it may seem. The fear was that such would lead to nuclear annihilation. However, our leaders are currently engaged in limited wars that manage to avoid full nuclear confrontation. So WWIII may not end society like we thought.
However, this does mean we are entering new conflicts and that means that relationships among countries will change. We need to be realistic about what that will look like. Admittedly, it may be premature to call this WWIII, but it is worth asking at what point our current conflicts qualify.
Brett Heinisch
Columbus, via email