Arab monarchies are seeking to stay close to their regional rival Tehran as they frantically try to avoid being engulfed in the war on the other side of the Gulf and to head off potential Iranian missile attacks. As Donald Trump considers US strikes on Iran, leaders of Arab states have spoken regularly to their counterparts in the Iranian capital. They fear US involvement would put Gulf states that host American bases in the line of fire, and could even strangle their oil and gas exports if Iran retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Since Israel launched its offensive last week, the rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — the region’s biggest economies — have spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to express solidarity, and repeatedly condemned Israel’s attacks. Qatar’s Emir spoke with Pezeshkian and received a letter from him; the Sultan of Oman had a call with the Iranian president, while foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait have all spoken with I
ran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. (Read More)
