Countries in Gulf press US to neutralise Iran for good

Gulf Arab states did not ask the US to go to war with Iran, but many are now urging it not to stop short by leaving the Islamic Republic still able to threaten the Gulfs oil lifeline and the economies that depend on it, three Gulf sources told Reuters.

- Reuters

At the same time, these sources and five Western and Arab diplomats said Washington was pressing Gulf states to join the US-Israeli war. According to three of them, President Donald Trump wants to show regional backing for the campaign, to bolster its international legitimacy as well as support at home.

“There is a wide feeling across the Gulf that Iran has crossed every red line with every Gulf country,” said Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Saudi-based Gulf Research Centre and familiar with government thinking. “At first we defended them and opposed the war,” he said. “But once they began directing strikes at us, they became an enemy.”

Six Gulf states targeted

Tehran has already demonstrated its reach, attacking airports, ports, oil facilities and commercial hubs in the six Gulf states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE — with missiles and drones while disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the artery carrying about a fifth of global oil and underpinning Gulf economies.