Iran’s attacks against the Gulf states are increasingly generating unity among them, as they tiptoe toward possible action against Tehran.
Iran has launched thousands of drones and missiles at the Gulf states. In addition, it has sought to escalate incrementally against them over the course of the three-week war. After an Israeli strike on an Iranian gas field, for example, Iran attacked Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial facility.
The Gulf states are now seeking unity in talks about their next steps.
Riyadh’s restraint could end, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Thursday.
“The Kingdom and its partners possess significant capabilities, and the patience we have shown is not unlimited,” Saudi Arabia-based newspaper Arab News quoted him as saying. “It could be a day, two days, or a week – I will not say.”
Saudi Arabia “reserves the right to take military action if deemed necessary,” Farhan said.
There is “almost nothing” left to salvage in the relationship, he added.
Saudi Arabia reconciled with Iran in 2023 after years of tensions, but is now outraged.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has spoken in the past about apologizing for Iran’s attacks on the Gulf, but Tehran now needs to show action, not words, Arab News editor-in-chief Faisal J. Abbas wrote. The Gulf states want to see Iran change course, he added.
“Many observers, yours truly included, breathed a sigh of relief” after Pezeshkian’s apology earlier in the war, Abbas wrote.
“The indiscriminate attacks targeting civilians in Gulf countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia (which had signed a nonaggression treaty with Tehran in Beijing in 2023), were assumed to have been a result of strategic miscalculation and were given the benefit of the doubt,” he wrote.
“This is despite the repeated pattern, and the clear indication that Tehran sought to target oil facilities to make the war as expensive as possible for America and the world at large.”
Riyadh wants worldwide consensus on next moves
Luigi Di Maio, the EU’s special representative for the Gulf, condemned Iran’s attacks and said Europe supports the Gulf states and remains “at their disposal.”
“In an interview with Arab News in Riyadh following the extraordinary EU-GCC ministerial meeting of March 5, Di Maio stressed that the bloc strongly condemned the unjustifiable Iranian attacks against the GCC countries and fully backed the Kingdom’s right to self-defense,” Arab News reported.
Across the Gulf, the solidarity is becoming more crystallized. In the UAE, local residents are expressing loyalty and support for their country, according to UAE-based news site Al-Ain News.
“In a unified regional stance reflecting growing concern about the repercussions of the escalation, Arab and Islamic countries sent firm messages to Iran, condemning its attacks and emphasizing that the security of the region and the sovereignty of its countries represent red lines that cannot be crossed,” the report said.
“This came during a consultative ministerial meeting that included the foreign ministers of a number of Arab and Islamic countries, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to discuss the repercussions of these attacks and their impact on the security and stability of the region,” Al-Ain News reported. “The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.”
The countries have moved toward explicit condemnation of Tehran. These words are important because symbolism is significant to the Gulf states.
Media across Gulf united in message of condemnation for Iran
Media outlets across the Gulf are reporting the same thing.
“Arab and Islamic foreign ministers issued a unified condemnation of Iran’s missile and drone attacks across the Gulf on Thursday, warning that the strikes on civilian infrastructure ‘cannot be justified under any circumstances’ and urging Tehran to immediately halt its escalation.” Dubai-based, English-language newspaper Gulf News reported.
“Meeting in Riyadh amid intensifying regional tensions, ministers from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Lebanon said continued violations of sovereignty would carry consequences and reaffirmed the right of states to defend themselves under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” the report said.
Qatar has the fire at Ras Laffan under control, but there are other developments.
The UAE continues to activate its air defense systems against missiles and drones. Qatar has also expelled Iranian officials.
"In Kuwait, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced that the fires that broke out in two operating units at the Mina Al Ahmadi and Abdullah Port refineries as a result of them being subjected to two attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles have been extinguished,” Gulf News reported.
In addition, “Saudi Arabia has not ruled out military action in response to repeated missile and drone attacks from Iran, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday,” the report said.
Qatar, which has tended to be closer to Iran in foreign policy over the past decade, has said Iran has crossed all red lines.