Gulf Allies Strain Under U.S.-Iran War: Saudi Upset, UAE Ports Hit as Strikes Rage On

The Israeli army claimed Tuesday that it struck a "command headquarters" in Tehran, in the latest wave of joint attacks with the US against Iran in the heart of Tehran. Photo by AFP

HOME I I HI TECH NEWS I SPORTS I CONTACT

Gulf Allies Strain Under U.S.-Iran War: Saudi Upset, UAE Ports Hit as Strikes Rage On

Daoud Al-Jaber - Middle East Affairs Analysis
Tell Us Worldwide News Network

RIYADH, SAU - U.S.-Iran fighting intensified into a fourth day Tuesday, with U.S. and Israeli forces continuing strikes inside Iran while Tehran launched missiles and drones toward targets across the Gulf, raising fears of a wider regional war. President Donald Trump said the campaign’s aim is to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities, while Iran has cast the attacks as unprovoked and occurring amid ongoing negotiations.

The U.S. military has reported striking more than 1,250 targets in the first 48 hours of what it calls Operation Epic Fury and destroying Iranian naval vessels, as the administration framed the operation around protecting U.S. forces and keeping maritime traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials said the American death toll has risen to six service members, following Iranian retaliatory attacks in the region.

Across the Gulf, Iran has targeted U.S. military and commercial interests in multiple countries and surrounding waterways with “hundreds” of missiles and drones, according to U.S. accounts carried by major outlets. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he does not expect the war to take years, as Israel expanded operations against Iran-linked targets beyond Iran’s borders.

U.S. relations with key Middle East governments have become more complicated and fragile as the war with Iran drags them into the line of fire and exposes differences over Washington’s strategy.

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies publicly condemned Iran’s missile and drone barrages on their territory and affirmed their right to self-defense, reinforcing security ties with Washington while signaling that Iran has badly damaged its own standing with Arab neighbors. At the same time, reporting indicates senior Saudi officials were “deeply upset” by the scale and timing of U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran, having earlier urged Washington to avoid triggering a regional war, which has injected new tension into the partnership despite ongoing military coordination.

In the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council states, Iran’s targeting of airports, ports, hotels and energy infrastructure has forced governments that host U.S. bases onto the front line of a conflict many had tried to hedge against, increasing their dependence on U.S. air and missile defenses while also heightening domestic political sensitivity about the American footprint. Analysts say Tehran appears to be striking U.S.-linked assets in these countries partly to pressure Gulf leaders to lean on Washington for a quick ceasefire, a tactic that could leave local rulers resentful of both Iran and the United States if the conflict is prolonged.

The war has also prompted a sweeping U.S. security alert urging American citizens to “depart now” from more than a dozen countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and has led to partial embassy closures and drawdowns in several capitals. Diplomats and regional experts warn that the evacuation orders and shuttered missions risk reducing U.S. day-to-day diplomatic influence just as Washington is trying to manage escalation, even as they underscore the seriousness of the threat faced by American partners.

While traditional U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan still rely on American security guarantees, they are simultaneously pressing for an end to the fighting and, in Oman’s case, voicing open dismay that earlier mediation efforts were overtaken by war, exposing a widening gap between Washington’s military calculus and regional governments’ desire to contain the conflict. Regional analysts suggest that, over time, the combination of battlefield dependence and political discomfort could drive some governments to diversify their security ties beyond Washington, even as they work with the United States to deter further Iranian attacks in the near term.