23 March 2026 — 46 active armed conflicts worldwide. The highest number since World War II. Updated by VULPES in real time.
The largest direct US military engagement since Iraq — spreading across a dozen countries with the world's most critical energy chokepoint at its centre and a 48-hour ultimatum expiring tonight.
Started: 28 February 2026. The US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian nuclear sites at Natanz and Isfahan. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz — through which 20% of global oil transits — and launching 70+ waves of missile and drone retaliation against Israel, US military bases, and Gulf Arab states.
Current status (23 March): Trump's 48-hour Hormuz ultimatum expires tonight. Iran's Parliament Speaker warns Gulf infrastructure faces "irreversible destruction" if power plants are struck. IRGC 70th wave hit Dimona and Arad, injuring 84 near Israel's nuclear research centre. Natanz struck for a second time by US-Israel. Iran has fired 400+ ballistic missiles at Israel (92% intercepted). Bahrain has intercepted 143 missiles + 242 drones total. Diego Garcia targeted by two Iranian ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia expelled Iranian diplomats. 2,500 additional US Marines deployed. Miami peace talks on Ukraine ongoing — directly linked to Moscow's Iran covert support.
Key figures: Killed in Iran: 1,444+ (including 204 children). Injured in Israel: 180+. 21 confirmed attacks on merchant ships. Tanker traffic down ~90%. Brent crude: $112/bbl. The IEA has described the Hormuz closure as the largest energy supply disruption since the 1970s crisis.
Parties involved: USA + Israel (attacking) · Iran + IRGC + proxies (defending/retaliating) · UK (base access) · Russia (targeting intel to Iran) · Gulf states (defending) · Ukraine (counter-drone support to Gulf allies)
The largest conventional war in Europe since World War II — now intersecting with the Iran conflict as Russia earns an oil windfall and supplies Tehran with intelligence against US forces while peace talks proceed in Miami.
Started: 24 February 2022. Russia's full-scale invasion has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions of Ukrainians. Russian confirmed total losses: 1,287,880 troops. Russian forces have made advances averaging 15–70 metres per day in main offensives — the slowest rate of advance of any major offensive campaign in modern warfare history.
Current status: US-Ukraine Miami peace talks entered Day 2 on March 22. Russia is launching new spring offensives across multiple front sectors — Zelensky reports 8,000+ Russian casualties in a single week. Ukraine intercepted 127 of 139 Russian drones overnight and struck oil depots in Saratov and the command post of Russia's elite Rubikon drone unit. Ukraine has deployed 200+ drone warfare experts to Gulf states. Russia confirmed supplying Iran with targeting intelligence on US troops and warships. Russia is earning $1.3–1.9B extra per month from Iran-war oil prices — effectively subsidising its Ukraine campaign.
Active fronts: Donetsk (Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar) · Kharkiv (Kupiansk corridor) · Zaporizhzhia · Kherson · Sumy border zone.
The world's worst humanitarian crisis — the UN's own designation — as Sudan's three-year war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces kills and displaces millions in near-total international silence.
Started: April 2023. The SAF and RSF — formerly allied factions in the 2019 coup — fractured violently. Over 150,000 killed, 12 million displaced, 33 million in need of humanitarian aid. Half the population faces acute hunger. Areas of Darfur and Kordofan are already in the grip of famine.
Current status: A hospital drone strike on March 21 killed 64 people including 13 children, pushing total healthcare conflict deaths past 2,000 across 213 confirmed attacks. Near-daily drone attacks on South Kordofan. El Obeid has faced continuous strikes for five consecutive days. Kordofan violence has intensified sharply. The Blue Nile state has emerged as a new central battleground following January clashes. SAF and RSF have built parallel governments and continue upgrading arsenals. ACLED assesses resolution as "unlikely soon."
Control: RSF controls most of Darfur. SAF controls east, centre, and north, including Khartoum (retaken mid-2025). El Fasher fell to RSF in late 2025 with documented atrocities against civilians. UN FFM and AU Fact-Finding Mission both blocked by all parties.
Military junta vs resistance forces — 50,000+ killed, 3M+ displaced. Junta controls cities; resistance holds large rural territories. No international mechanism for resolution exists.
Rwanda-backed M23 has effectively annexed North and South Kivu provinces. Uvira fell January 2026. Mineral-rich eastern DRC remains a proxy battleground for regional powers.
Israel continues daily bombardment despite the October 10 ceasefire agreement. All crossings closed, aid blocked. 40,000+ killed. West Bank settler attacks averaging 10/day. UN calls it collective punishment.
JNIM jihadists have partially blockaded Bamako. Regime collapse risk rising in both countries. French forces departed, replaced by Wagner/Russian contractors. Regional spillover into Niger ongoing.
Al-Shabaab remains active across 60% of southern Somalia. AU mission drawdown increases risk of territorial reversal. US drone and special operations activity ongoing.
Armed gangs control 85% of Port-au-Prince. 700,000+ displaced. Government barely functional. Limited international security mission in place. No political solution visible.
US oil blockade has plunged Cuba into its third nationwide blackout in March. No foreign oil since December 2025. Trump threatens "friendly takeover." Regime-US talks quietly ongoing.
Taliban governance faces ongoing IS-K attacks. Women's rights eliminated. Humanitarian crisis deepening. Diplomatic isolation continues.
Post-Tigray conflict sees Amhara and Oromia insurgencies continue. GERD dam negotiations stalled — international mediators diverted to Iran crisis.
Security analysts attribute the 2026 spike in global conflict to a convergence of structural factors: the breakdown of traditional US deterrence under an "America First" foreign policy, the rise of powerful proxy militias funded by regional powers, fierce competition over critical minerals and energy resources, and the rapid proliferation of cheap lethal drone technology that has radically lowered the cost of sustained offensive operations for non-state and state actors alike.
The Iran war has supercharged several of these dynamics simultaneously. It has demonstrated to regional powers that the US will use overwhelming military force when national interests are sufficiently threatened — but also that Iran can absorb significant punishment and continue fighting, absorbing 1,400+ dead while maintaining its missile and drone campaign. For China, the operational lessons being absorbed from this conflict in real time are arguably more significant than any direct economic impact.
The Sudan conflict — the world's deadliest by civilian casualty rate — commands almost no international political attention or resources, precisely because the parties have no oil leverage and no nuclear dimension. This is the defining moral failure of the current international order: attention and resources flow to conflicts with strategic economic stakes, not humanitarian ones.
The number of concurrent armed conflicts is at its highest point since World War II. The convergence of the Iran war, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Sudan humanitarian catastrophe in a single quarter represents an unprecedented strain on global diplomatic, military, and humanitarian capacity. VULPES will continue tracking all 46 active conflicts and updating this tracker daily.