Iran on Sunday expanded its response to US-Israeli strikes by targeting Gulf Arab states, including Oman and the United Arab Emirates, in what analysts say is an attempt to pressure Washington but risks drawing the region closer to the United States.According to CNN, Iran has fired missiles and drones at Israel and at civilian sites such as hotels and airports in several Middle Eastern countries that host US military bases. Oman said its commercial port of Duqm was targeted, despite Muscat mediating talks between the United States and Iran last week.
Iran destroys US national defenses; American bases are subjected to shocking attacks, and its allies in the Gulf are under fire
Hassan Al-Hassan, a senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told CNN that the strikes signal that “everything is on the table” for Iran.
“There is a very clear message… that no one is safe, that mediation does not provide protection, and that exchanging mutual guarantees or pledges not to allow airspace or territory to be used militarily against Iran is also ineffective,” Al-Hassan said.He added that the Iranian approach appears to be aimed at increasing pressure on the Gulf governments so that they, in turn, push the American administration to end the conflict early.
He said that Iran’s calculations are “to increase the pain on the Gulf states, in order to force them to put pressure on the Trump administration to bring a quick end to the war.”However, Al-Hassan warned that this strategy could backfire. It is still unclear how much influence the Gulf states have on Washington.“It is quite clear that the United States has a mind of its own, and that it is acting in close coordination with the Israelis.
I believe that what Iran’s strategy may ultimately do is actually push the Gulf states into a closer alliance with the United States, not the other way around.
He also noted that while the Gulf states prefer to stop the escalation, the widespread casualties among civilians may force them to “start looking at options higher up the escalation ladder.” Meanwhile, Anwar Gargash, advisor to the UAE President and former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said that Iran “missed its target” with its attacks on Arab Gulf states. “Your war is not with your neighbors and through this escalation,” Gargash wrote on Sunday on Channel X.“Come back to your senses and to your surroundings and deal with your neighbors with reason and responsibility before the circle of isolation and escalation expands. ” He said.The United Arab Emirates, which in recent years has sought to ease tensions with Iran, was among the countries affected, with Dubai, the country’s commercial hub, particularly affected by missiles and drones, the Associated Press reported.These developments represent a widening of the scope of the conflict beyond the United States, Israel, and Iran, putting the Gulf states, many of which host American military facilities, in a more direct line of fire, even as they publicly call for restraint.
This comes as the United States and Israel, early on Saturday, launched joint raids in Iran, in what was dubbed Operation Epic Rage, which resulted in the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iran’s top military and security leaders.
