WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Gulf allies of the United States, led by and the are urging to continue prosecuting the , arguing that Tehran hasn’t been weakened enough by the monthlong U.S.-led bombing campaign, according to U.S., Gulf and Israeli officials.
After private grumbling at the start of the war that they of the U.S.-Israeli attack and complaining the U.S. had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran鈥檚 clerical rule once and for all.
Officials from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and have conveyed in private conversations that they do not want the military operation to end until there are significant changes in the Iranian leadership or there鈥檚 a dramatic shift in Iranian behavior, according to the officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The push from the Gulf nations comes as Trump vacillates between claiming that Iran’s decimated leadership is the conflict and threatening to if a deal is not reached soon.
All the while, Trump is at home for a war that’s left across the Mideast and is Yet the U.S. leader is sounding increasingly confident that he has the full support of his most important Mideast allies 鈥� in the
鈥淪audi Arabia鈥檚 fighting back hard. Qatar is fighting back. UAE is fighting back. Kuwait鈥檚 fighting back. Bahrain鈥檚 fighting back,鈥� Trump told reporters on on Sunday evening as he made his way to Washington from 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all fighting back.鈥�
The Gulf countries host U.S. forces and bases from which the U.S. has launched strikes on Iran, but have not joined the offensive strikes.
Gulf allies support the war to varying degrees
While regional leaders are broadly supportive now of the U.S. efforts, one Gulf diplomat described some division, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the calls for increasing military pressure on Tehran.
The UAE has emerged as perhaps the most hawkish of the Gulf countries and is pushing hard for Trump to order a ground invasion, the diplomat said. Kuwait and Bahrain also favor this option. The UAE, which has faced more than 2,300 missile and drone attacks from Iran, has only grown more irritated as the war grinds on and the salvos threaten to as the safe, pristine and monied hub for trade and tourism of the Mideast.
and which historically have played the role of intermediary between the long economically isolated Iran and the West, have favored a diplomatic solution.
The diplomat said Saudi Arabia has argued to the U.S. that ending the war now won鈥檛 produce a 鈥済ood deal,鈥� one guaranteeing security for Iran鈥檚 Arab neighbors.
The Saudis say an eventual war settlement must neutralize , destroy its ballistic missile capabilities, end Tehran鈥檚 support for proxy groups, and also ensure that the cannot be effectively shutdown by the Islamic Republic in the future as it has during the conflict. of the world鈥檚 oil flowed through the waterway before the war.
Achieving those goals would require a sharp course correction by the theocracy that has been in charge of the country since or its removal.
Senior Emirati officials, meanwhile, have become more pointed in their rhetoric toward Iran.
鈥淎n Iranian regime that launches ballistic missiles at homes, weaponizes global trade and supports proxies is no longer an acceptable feature of the regional landscape,鈥� Noura Al Kaabi, a minister of state at the UAE鈥檚 Foreign Ministry, wrote in a column published Monday by the state-linked, English-language newspaper The National. She added: 鈥淲e want a guarantee that this will never happen again.鈥�
The White House declined to comment for this story about the deliberations with Gulf allies. But Secretary of State on Monday underscored that the U.S. and its Gulf Arab allies are in sync about Iran.
鈥淭hey are religious zealots who can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon because they have an apocalyptic vision of the future,鈥� Rubio said of Iran in an appearance on ABC’s 鈥淕ood Morning America.鈥� 鈥淎nd all of their neighbors know that, by the way, which is why all of their neighbors have been supportive of the efforts we鈥檙e conducting.鈥�
Saudi crown prince urges US not to let up
, the kingdom’s de facto leader, has told White House officials that a further defanging of Iran鈥檚 military capabilities and clerical leadership serves the long-term interest of the Gulf region and beyond, according to a person who has been briefed on the conversations.
Still, the Saudis are sensitive to the fact that the longer the conflict goes on the more opportunity Iran has to carry out strikes on the kingdom鈥檚 energy infrastructure, the heartbeat of its oil-rich economy.
A Saudi government official underscored that the kingdom ultimately wants to see a political solution to the crisis, but its immediate focus remains safeguarding its people and critical infrastructure.
Iran鈥檚 foreign minister early Tuesday insisted Tehran鈥檚 attacks on the Gulf Arab states only target U.S. forces, even after assaults have hit civilian targets.
鈥淚ran respects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and considers it a brotherly nation,鈥� Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, sharing a photo purportedly showing damage to an American aircraft at a Saudi air base. 鈥淥ur operations are aimed at enemy aggressors who have no respect for Arabs or Iranians, nor can provide any security. … High time to eject U.S. forces.鈥�
Trump, in recent days, has sought to spotlight that most of the Gulf countries have stood in lockstep with his administration as the U.S. prosecutes the war, noting how they鈥檝e coalesced in the thick of crisis as he criticizes NATO allies for not joining the U.S. in the fight.
On Friday, he heaped praise on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates for showing 鈥渂ravery鈥� as the war has unfolded.
The president, speaking at an event in Miami sponsored by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, was particularly effusive about the Saudi crown prince, hailing him as a 鈥渨arrior鈥� and a 鈥渇antastic man.鈥�
Trump also alluded to the fact that the Gulf countries were hesitant about his and Israeli Prime Minister decision to launch the war, but have since rallied.
鈥淭hey weren鈥檛 thinking this was going to happen, nobody was,鈥� said Trump, referring to Iran launching thousands of retaliatory salvos around the Gulf. 鈥淎nd they turned against them and really became very powerfully aligned. And they were with us, but they weren鈥檛 with us very obliquely. They were with us.鈥�
Will Gulf allies join the fight?
Trump has yet to call on Gulf nations to take part in offensive operations.
One factor may be that the administration might have calculated that it鈥檚 not worth the complications that come with crowding the skies with additional militaries beyond Israel.
Three American fighter jets by friendly Kuwaiti fire in the first days of the conflict in the midst of an Iranian air assault. All six crew members safely ejected from the F-15E Strike Eagles.
And six American service members were killed on March 12, when their
Another factor is that only UAE and Bahrain are among the Gulf states that have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, adding a layer of complication to their calculus, notes Yasmine Farouk, the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula project director at the International Crisis Group
But Iran has warned it will attack its neighbors’ critical infrastructure, including desalination plants used to provide drinking water to the region, if Trump follows through on his if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by April 6.
鈥淭he absence of a clear objective, the absence of the trust that the United States is really going to go until the end and finish the jobs 鈥� it’s making some of them reluctant,鈥� Farouk said. 鈥淏ut if there is a consequential or mass casualty (event) in one of those countries, then it would be justified for them to become a belligerent.鈥�
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP writers Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed reporting.
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