Gulf allies privately call on Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated

After private complaints at the start of the war about not having received adequate advance warning of the attack from the United States and Israel, and after regretting that Washington ignored their warnings that the conflict would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are suggesting to the White House that this moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple the theocratic regime from Tehran once and for all.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain 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 a drastic turn in its behavior, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The pressure from Gulf nations comes at a time when Trump vacillates between claiming that Iran’s decimated leadership is ready to resolve the conflict and threaten with further escalate the war if an agreement is not reached soon.

At the same time, Trump struggles to gain the support of public opinion in his country for a war that has left more than 3,000 dead throughout the Middle East and that is shaking the global economy. However, the American leader is increasingly confident that he has the full support of his most important allies in the region, including some who had doubts about a new military campaign in the days before the outbreak.

“Saudi Arabia is responding strongly. Qatar is responding. The Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain too,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday night as he headed to Washington from his home in Florida. ““Everyone is responding.”

The Gulf countries host US forces and bases from which attacks have been launched against Iran, although they have not joined the offensive operations directly.

While regional leaders broadly support US efforts at this time, one Gulf diplomat described some divisioncon Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates leading orders to increase military pressure on Tehran.

The United Arab Emirates has emerged as perhaps the most warlike country in the Gulf and they are pushing hard for Trump order a ground invasion, according to the diplomat.

Kuwait and Bahrain also favor this option. The Emirates, which have faced more than 2,300 missile and drone attacks from Iran, have seen their irritation grow as the war drags on and projectiles threaten to tarnish its image as the safe and prosperous center for trade and tourism in the Middle East.

Oman and Qatar, which have historically played the role of intermediaries between an economically isolated Iran and the West, have leaned towards a diplomatic solution.

The diplomat noted that Saudi Arabia has argued to the United States that ending the war now will not produce a good agreement that guarantees the security of Iran’s Arab neighbors.

The Saudis maintain that an eventual peace deal must neutralize Iran’s nuclear program, destroy its ballistic missile capabilities, end Tehran’s support for satellite groups and ensure that the Islamic Republic cannot close the Strait of Hormuz in the future, as it has done during this conflict. About 20% of the world’s oil circulated through that route before the war.

Achieving these objectives would require a drastic course correction for theocracy who has led the country since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, or his dismissal.

Meanwhile, senior Emirati officials have toughened their rhetoric toward Iran.

“An Iranian regime that launches ballistic missiles at homes, weaponizes global trade and supports armed groups is no longer an acceptable element of the regional landscape,” Noura Al Kaabi, minister of state at the Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote in a column published Monday.

He added that “they want a guarantee that this will not happen again“.

The White House declined to comment for this article on deliberations with Gulf allies. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed on Monday that the United States and its Arab allies they are in tune regarding Iran.

“They are religious fanatics who They can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon because they have an apocalyptic vision of the future,” Rubio said of Iran on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “And all of their neighbors know it, by the way, which is why they have all supported the efforts that we are undertaking.”

The crown prince Mohammed bin Salmanthe kingdom’s de facto leader, has told White House officials that further weakening of Iran’s military capabilities and clerical leadership serves the long-term interests of the Gulf region and beyond, according to a person briefed on the conversations.

Still, the Saudis are sensitive to the fact that the longer the conflict continues, Iran will have more opportunities to carry out attacks against the kingdom’s energy infrastructurethe heart of its oil economy.

A Saudi government official stressed that the kingdom wants to eventually see a political solution to the crisis, but its immediate focus remains on safeguarding its population and critical infrastructure.

Iran’s foreign minister insisted early Tuesday that Tehran’s attacks on Arab Gulf states are only aimed to the American forces, even after the attacks have hit civilian targets.

“Iran respects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and considers it a brother nation,” Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on the social network

Trump, in recent days, has sought to highlight that most Gulf countries have remained aligned with his administration, pointing out how they have come together amid the crisis while criticizing NATO allies for not joining the fight.

On Friday, he praised the bravery of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The president, speaking at an event in Miami sponsored by the Saudi sovereign wealth fundwas particularly effusive with the Saudi crown prince, calling him a “warrior” and a “fantastic man.”

Trump also alluded to the fact that Gulf countries hesitated at his and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to start the war, but have since joined the cause.

Trump has not yet asked Gulf nations to engage in offensive operations. One factor may be that management has calculated that the complications involved are not worth facing. saturate the airspace with additional military forces beyond Israel.

Three American fighter planes were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire in the early days of the conflict. Additionally, six U.S. service members died on March 12 when Their refueling plane crashed in western Iraq.

Another factor is that only the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain They have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, which adds a layer of complexity to their calculations, says Yasmine Farouk, director of the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula project at the International Crisis Group.

However, Iran has warned that it will attack the critical infrastructure of its neighbors, including desalination plants, if Trump follows through on his threat to attack Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened to on April 6.

“The absence of a clear goal and lack of confidence that the United States will actually go all the way is making some of them reluctant,” Farouk says. “But if a mass casualty event occurs in one of those countries, then they would be justified in becoming active belligerents.”