Prime Minister Scott Morrison loves to decry the so-called "Canberra bubble".

We're told it's a land inhabited by the disconnected, the faceless, the uncaring.

But there is another bubble right now and it's shuttering out the realities of an increasingly dangerous world.

It's the "election bubble", created by campaigns from all sides that have largely ignored a big bad world out there.

Apart from a brief, Paul Keating-led debate on our relationship with China, the campaigns have been all about domestic issues.

North Korea still firing missiles

While there have been vague references to international economic "headwinds", they too were gone in a puff.

And yet, we are close to an all-out trade war between China and the United States, which could have huge consequences for our economy.

All the current economic assumptions, modelling, projections would have to be junked if the two largest economies on the planet decide to duke it out.

All the promises of better schools, hospitals, roads would be out the window. And yet, there is barely a mention of the risks in this last lap of the election race.

Kim Jong-un has resumed testing of short-range missiles. ( KCNA )

The economy is just one of several global blind spots right now. A once "beautiful" relationship between North Korea's Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump is not going so well.

After the failure of the Hanoi summit, Mr Kim has expressed his frustration by firing off short-range missiles. And the US has responded by impounding a North Korean coal ship accused of carrying sanction-busting coal.

Is US-Iran war on the cards?

While there is no immediate risk of conflict, the mood music is decidedly dark with no obvious way forward.

But the situation on the Korean peninsula is decidedly rosy compared with the very dangerous confrontation that is happening right now between Iran and the United States.

As you are reading this, an American battle group headed by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is positioning near Iran. And an unnamed number of powerful US B52 bombers are now within striking distance of the Islamic republic.

The Iranian Government describes it as a grave crisis, as it also struggles with the US sanctions that have squeezed oil and now metal exports.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the deployment of the battle group was in response to credible threats to US forces in the region.

At the same time, the UAE has reported four commercial ships have been the target of unspecified "sabotage operations" in the Gulf of Oman, in shipping lanes vital to the export of oil and gas to the world.

Saudi Arabia, where the ships are registered, has been vocal in its condemnation. An Iranian spokesperson described the attacks as "regrettable and alarming".

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While no-one has said it publicly, many would guess Iranian fingerprints are all over those attacks. Such threats to commercial shipping could seriously hurt exporting nations and drive up energy costs, slowing everyone's economies. Under this pressure, the US might pull back its sanctions — or so the theory goes.

But if that is a strategy in Tehran, it's unlikely to work. The animosity and distrust between the two powers is so deep that neither can afford to be seen as giving ground.

It would be madness to initiate a conflict. Iran is a force to be reckoned with in its own neighbourhood but would be no match for the military might of the United States.

While a pre-emptive strike by the Americans would no doubt bring short-term success, the US has a long record of getting into fights it can't get out of, as Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan can attest to.

Plus, it's almost certain such a conflict would spill over into other Middle East countries.

Threats can spiral

It may not be logical for either side to start a shooting war, but that is assuming cool rational heads free of domestic pressures. Before he became Mr Trump's National Security Advisor, John Bolton openly advocated bombing Iran.

Sorry, this video has expired Iran's President Hassan Rouhani told Mr Trump not to "play with the lion's tail".

Perhaps the greater risk is an accident which gets out of hand. Remember in 1988 the USS Vincennes shot down Iranian passenger flight 655, killing all 290 people on board, after misidentifying it as a military threat.

Washington may simply intend to squeeze Iran for a better nuclear agreement and to end its support of proxy armies in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. But neither side is in total control of this confrontation and a misstep could easily become a tipping point.

If that happens, global energy markets will be shaken, and economies threatened.

When the Australian election bubble is finally pricked next Saturday night, the winner may emerge blinking into the glare of a harsh new world.