In a major escalation of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a fully laden Kuwaiti oil tanker was attacked by Iran in the anchorage area of Dubai’s port on Tuesday. This is why some Arab Gulf countries want the US to press ahead with bombing Iran to ensure the regime can no longer threaten them. To some the regime in Iran proved to their number one enemy
Some Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have told the Trump administration to press ahead with bombing Iran to ensure the regime can no longer threaten countries in the region with ballistic missiles and drones, according to three senior officials in Persian Gulf states, a U.S. official and a congressional aide.
Although they have misgivings about the way the war has been handled and are skeptical about efforts to topple the regime in Tehran through air power, these allies also have expressed concerns to the White House that ending the war prematurely could leave their countries vulnerable to future attacks by the regime.
“Our message is: Finish the job,” said one of the senior Gulf officials.
If the air campaign is wrapped up without sufficiently weakening Iran, the regime could regroup and once again threaten Gulf countries, jeopardize energy infrastructure and keep the Strait of Hormuz at risk, the officials said.
However, one of the senior Gulf officials said their government opposed the U.S’. escalating the war by introducing ground troops and wanted Washington to stick to military targets that pose the biggest threat to the region: ballistic missile launchers, drone factories and missile plants.
Unlike Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman favor diplomatic efforts to end the conflict as soon as possible and are not pushing for the U.S.-Israeli air campaign to continue, the officials said.
Gulf allies are also concerned that Israel may not be willing to end the air campaign even if the U.S. decides to halt the operation, the officials said.
Gulf states have conveyed to the administration that Israeli bombing of energy facilities in Iran has been counterproductive and raised the threat of Iranian retaliation against energy and other infrastructure in the region, the officials said.
NBC
