World War 3 fears have erupted with the Head of the British Armed Forces warning of “long-simmering tensions coming to the boil” as he identified three huge threats.

Adml Sir Tony Radakin, the Chief of the Defence Staff, branded North Korea “belligerent”, China “more assertive” and Iran “reckless” as he warned the world is “undeniably becoming much more dangerous”.

He also cited last October’s “barbaric attacks in Israel” as some of the conflicts that have sent global tensions soaring in recent months.

Sir Tony told the Ash Carter Exchange in Washington: “All around the world long-simmering tensions feel like they are coming to the boil.

“The world is undeniably becoming much more dangerous. It has gone from being competitive to contested and now – as we saw from Iran’s attack against Israel – it is increasingly combative.”

He added: “What we have seen unfold in the past few years is a battle of ideas: between an authoritarian and belligerent Russia and a dynamic, democratic Ukraine; between a reckless Iran and its terrorist network on one side, and the responsible nations of the Middle East on the other; between a China that believes it can dominate and coerce, and those nations that share a commitment to an international system that is open and free.”

The military chief also believes Russia is on a “downward trajectory” in its war with Ukraine, and that Vladimir Putin’s crisis-hit Black Sea Fleet has “scattered” as it has been forced to take cover from Ukraine‘s naval drones.

Despite Russia having Iranian drones and North Korean ammunition in Ukraine at its disposal, Sir Tony said Russia has only been able to make “modest tactical gains”.

Furthermore, he also warned of surging tensions in the Balkans, adding: “Kosovo and Serbia are at loggerheads.”

The comments from Sir Tony come with Jarosław Stróżyk, head of Poland’s counterintelligence service, warning Putin could launch an attack against certain countries as a way of testing the response from NATO.

He told Polish publication Dziennik Gazeta Prawna: “Putin is certainly already prepared for some mini-operation against one of the Baltic countries, for example, to enter the famous Narva [in Estonia] or to land on one of the Swedish islands.”

Earlier this month, Russia put the world on alert after announcing it is carrying out nuclear exercises “in order to increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions”, encompassing aviation and naval forces.