Gulf allies believe Israel is out of control after ‘reckless' war
Israel's attack on Iran risks triggering a lasting rupture with its Middle Eastern allies, Gulf Arab officials have warned.
Once seen as the region's chief guarantor against the Iranian nuclear threat, Israel is now increasingly viewed as its most destabilising force after entering conflict with Tehran, which one Arab diplomat characterised as 'unforgivably reckless'.
Although some officials admitted that they hoped Israel had succeeded in destroying Iran's nuclear facilities, representatives of three Gulf states have expressed alarm about its growing military dominance and Benjamin Netanyahu's willingness to wield it.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one official said: 'He appears to be beyond restraint – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and now Iran.
'Unchecked, uncontrollable power is no longer an asset for us. It is a problem.'
Growing concern about Israel's 'destabilising' role threatens the legacy of the Abraham Accords, the series of agreements under which the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan normalised relations with Israel.
Hailed as a landmark moment for Israel's integration into the Arab world after decades of hostility, the accords were Donald Trump 's signature foreign policy achievement in his first term.
US officials had hoped Saudi Arabia would eventually follow suit but expectations have dwindled since Israel's war in Gaza, which drew sharp denunciations from Riyadh.
Gulf states were drawn to the accords partly because they enabled them to forge a united front against Iran. Tehran's nuclear ambitions, missile development and sponsorship of proxy militias were seen as the region's primary threat.
The accords also facilitated intelligence sharing and military cooperation at a time when Washington seemed to be disengaging from the region.
That Israel now risks replacing Iran as the chief source of instability is an irony.
It reflects rising anxiety over what Gulf states, which have preferred to seek a diplomatic solution with Iran, increasingly see as Israel's boundless military ambition.
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Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
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The truth behind Trump's bombings and the huge Iran secret kept from the world that's hoodwinked all of America
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In Farsi, the potential new ground zero for Iran's nuclear program is Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, otherwise known in English as 'Pickaxe Mountain,' located in the Zagros Mountains in central Iran on the outskirts of one of the regime's other nuclear sites at Natanz. 'It is plausible that Iran moved centrifuges and highly enriched uranium (HEU) to secret or hardened locations prior to the recent strikes - including possibly to facilities near Pickaxe Mountain,' Christoph Bluth, professor of international relations and security at the University of Bradford, told the Daily Mail. Previous intelligence had showed 'large tunnels being bored into the mountain, with possible infrastructure for an advanced enrichment facility,' he claimed. 'The site may be buried 100 meters below the surface. So it is conceivable that advanced centrifuge cascades have been hidden there, but there is no specific evidence at this time to confirm where centrifuges and fissile material has been moved to.' Previous satellite images have shown heavy construction at Pickaxe, and Iran reportedly dismissed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) when asked what was occurring in the bowels of the mountain. Experts have suggested that, if there was a centrifuge hall being built there, it could be bigger than Fordow. The site has four tunnel entrances, each is 20 feet wide by 26 feet high, and experts who have analyzed satellite data suggest its tunnels could go well beyond 382 feet deep, further underground than Fordow. 'It would be much harder to destroy using conventional weapons, such as like a typical bunker buster bomb,' said Steven De La Fuente, a research associate at the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington. According to Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the IAEA, the Iranian regime may have moved about 880lbs of uranium that was being stored in casks the size of scuba tanks and was transportable by vehicles. If material from Fordow was hauled to Pickaxe Mountain, it would have likely been driven for two hours along Iran's Route 7 freeway. The emergence of Pickaxe Mountain comes amid a furious row within the Trump administration over the impact of Saturday's strikes on Fordow and two other Iranian nuclear sites, Natanz and Isfahan. A preliminary US intelligence assessment determined with 'low confidence' that Iran's nuclear program was only set back by a matter of months. The initial report was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's main intelligence arm, which is one of 18 US intelligence agencies. However, the classified assessment is at odds with that of President Trump and high-ranking US officials who said the three sites had been 'obliterated.' Weapons expert David Albright, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, concluded the centrifuge halls at Fordow were destroyed by the numerous 30,000lb bombs the US dropped. 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The Sun
28 minutes ago
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