On Thursday morning, a coalition of Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed rebels over concerns that the strategically located oil producers could become Tehran's next satellite states. The Houthi movement, a radical insurgent Shiite group, had been fighting against the legitimate government of Yemen and had seized control of large sections of the country, developments that produced little reaction from the international community. The latest twist in the plot in the prolonged proxy war in the Middle East reveals the extent and limits of Iran's expansionist foreign policy, which the country implemented with remarkable success behind the smokescreen of nuclear talks and Tehran's post-Mahmoud Ahmadinejad charm offensive.The Middle East has not, in recent memory, been further from peace. A prolonged civil war has turned Syria into a hotbed of mercenaries and deranged radicals; ISIS, now a household name, has captured the hearts and minds of many youngsters and as a large following around the globe; the persecution of moderate Islamists in Egypt and new settlements in Palestine and now, Yemen, a country to which the world turned a blind eye until it could no longer ignore it, and the final stronghold against Iranian expansionism. Looking at the media's response to the most recent developments in Yemen, one cannot but wonder how much optimism people, including politicians and pundits, are capable of.Here is a great example of how the world has failed the Middle East this time. In recent years, policy-makers in Washington have been skillfully tricked by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's charm offensive - hint: the Twitter affair - and the promise of success in prolonged nuclear talks into thinking that the Iranian government was genuinely interested in achieving Middle East peace. When former CIA director General David Patraeus recently warned that the greatest threat in the region was not ISIS, but the Iranian-backed insurgency, hardly anyone paid attention.Having been overcautious in Syria and too careless in Iraq, the White House traded the future of yet another country to achieve, maybe, some success in the future. In their defense, enlisting the services of General Qasem Soleimani to fight ISIS militants must have seemed like a great idea at first, much like arming the Taliban back in the 1980s.Once again, regional powers find themselves compelled to neutralize a major threat in the Middle East, where outsiders seem more interested in shortcuts and scoring easy points. Turkey, in particular, could make great contributions toward peace at this critical point. It goes without saying that the current situation in the Middle East does not hold the promise of peace and prosperity for any regional player. Quite the contrary, the region now finds itself on the verge of a much larger violent conflict. Although Iran might ostensibly achieve certain short-term goals, the worsening situation will inevitably have negative effects on the country itself.Over the past years, the Turkish government has repeatedly expressed concern over the threat of sectarianism and proxy wars in the region. Tehran's greedy expansionism, in particular, has deeply disturbed Turkish officials who have warned the international community that the situation called for a comprehensive strategy rather than Western governments outsourcing counter-terrorism to local actors. Although Ankara has repeatedly called on the international community to pay closer attention to this issue, many observers found it more convenient to fight back with baseless accusations about the influx of foreign fighters from Turkey instead of Iran, the chief sponsor of the ongoing proxy war.Addressing the issue at a press conference on Thursday evening, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not go to great lengths to sugarcoat his criticism: "Iran apparently seeks regional domination, which disturbs our nation as well as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. Iran and the terrorist groups must leave Yemen." It was particularly notable that Mr. Erdoğan engaged in such direct criticism ahead of a prescheduled official visit to Tehran on April 6.Now more than ever, the international community cannot afford to remain silent, since the ever-growing likelihood of sectarian conflict in the Middle East could set many pieces in motion while jeopardizing the national security of even the most geographically distant countries by radicalizing their citizens. Keeping in mind that ISIS emerged out of the prolonged chaos in Syria, sectarian conflicts in Yemen and Iraq, among other places, could give rise to a range of new terrorist organizations.At this point, Turkey and its allies bear a historic responsibility to counterbalance Iran and its satellites in the Middle East, which represents an absolute prerequisite of regional peace and stability. The emergence of a large anti-Iranian coalition extending from Pakistan to Gulf Cooperation Council countries sends a perfectly clear message about the gravity of the threat posed by Tehran's dangerous gambit. For the sake of peace, let us hope that the Iranian government will learn from the Yemen affair and engage its neighbors and regional powers in a constructive manner. If sectarian conflicts set the Middle East on fire, no country will be able to avoid the consequences.