Gulf states fear escalation as U.S. Iran strikes rattle region
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(Bloomberg) — Iran's Arab neighbors urged restraint and warned of potentially devastating implications for the region after US strikes on Tehran's nuclear program raised the prospects for all-out war in the Middle East.
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In statements on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry condemned the violation of Iran's sovereignty, Qatar warned it would have 'disastrous consequences,' and Oman called it 'illegal.' Those countries, and the United Arab Emirates, have spent months trying to use their geopolitical and economic heft to bolster nuclear talks between the Americans and Iran.
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They spent the week since Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Tehran trying to keep the US from directly intervening. Saturday night's bombings have shown just how much they are hostage to forces completely outside their control.
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'I don't think the Arab Gulf states have much control over the course of events at this stage,' said Hasan Alhasan, Senior Fellow for Middle East Policy at IISS in Manama, Bahrain. 'There is no guarantee that any of the warring parties, Iran, Israel or the US, will take Gulf interests into account.'
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In a press conference on Sunday, Iran's foreign minister said he'd spoken with counterparts across the region the day before who were 'worried about a possible attack by the United States.'
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'Almost all of them are very much concerned and interested to play a role to end this aggression by Israel,' Abbas Araghchi said.
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Within the region, there was evidence of growing disquiet, with people stockpiling supplies in the UAE and Kuwait. Meanwhile, British Airways halted flights to Dubai and Doha, two of the region's economic centers.
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It's a stark contrast from just over a month ago when US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE on his first scheduled foreign trip since returning to office. There, he touted the potential for trillions of dollars-worth of trade and investments between the US and the Gulf.
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Leaders are 'forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos,' Trump said in the Saudi capital, 'where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence. We don't want that.'
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The Gulf Arab states have sought to leverage their natural resources and trillion-dollar sovereign wealth funds to diversify their economies and emerge as significant geopolitical players. They've acted as key go-betweens during the US-Iran nuclear talks, urging a deal for the sake of regional stability and economic prosperity.
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Calgary Herald
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Winnipeg Free Press
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