Vladimir Zhirinovsky's 2022 warning has resurfaced following US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic

Late Russian statesman Vladimir Zhirinovsky's prediction that a conflict centered on Iran could trigger World War III has resurfaced amid the major US and Israeli military campaign against Tehran.

The US and Israel launched their joint assault over the weekend, saying it was aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons - allegations Tehran has denied, insisting its program is purely peaceful.

The video featuring Zhirinovsky's prediction, originally recorded in 2022 shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, shows the former leader of Russia's Liberal Democratic Party warning about tensions in the Middle East months before his death.

"You do not take into account the situation in the Middle East. There will be such events that everyone will forget what Ukraine is," the politician says in the clip.

"The matter is about the Third World War," Zhirinovsky continues, identifying Iran as a potential flashpoint.

He adds in the clip that Israel will inevitably target Iranian nuclear facilities and argues that this will provoke swift retaliation from Tehran - giving Washington a pretext to intervene. The US, using Israel as justification, will then launch extensive bombing campaigns, possibly involving the deployment of "devastating local weapons," he says.

"Iran is not Vietnam, nor North Korea, nor Kosovo. Here were the most terrible events," Zhirinovsky adds.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran, along with renewed Israeli attacks on Lebanon, have intensified since Saturday, with reported deaths topping 1,200. Missile and drone fire has spread across Iran, Israel, and the Gulf.

Israel said it hit targets in Lebanon after Hezbollah launched rockets in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in weekend strikes.

Iran's response to what it called a regime-change operation has also disrupted crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz - a key global shipping route.