“At first we defended them and opposed the war,” he said. “But once they began directing strikes at us, they became an enemy. There is no other way to classify them.” Tehran has already demonstrated its reach, attacking airports, ports, oil facilities and commercial hubs in the six Gulf states with missiles and drones while also attacking Israel and disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — the artery carrying about a fifth of global oil and underpinning Gulf economies.
The attacks have reinforced Gulf fears that leaving Iran with any significant offensive weaponry or arms manufacturing capacity could embolden it to hold the region’s energy lifeline hostage whenever tensions rise. As the war entered its third week, with US and Israeli airstrikes intensifying and Iran firing at US bases and civilian targets across the Gulf, a Gulf source said the prevailing mood among leaders was unmistakable: that Trump should comprehensively degrade Iran’s military capacity. The alternative, the source said, was living under constant threat. Unless Iran was severely weakened, he said, it would continue to hold the region to ransom. (Read More)
