Gulf countries caught between Trump’s deadline and Iran’s threatspublished at 10:51 GMT
10:51 GMT
Azadeh Moshiri
South Asia Correspondent
The UAE’s foreign minister has said “we will never be blackmailed by terrorists”.
There is pure anger in the Gulf about how this war has unfolded, but not all leaders agree on the way forward following Donald Trump’s ultimatum, and threats exchanged between the US and Iran.
After the extensive damage at Qatar’s Ras Laffan field and the targeting of other facilities across the region, leaders aren’t taking Iran’s threats lightly.
Here in the UAE, the country’s ties to the US may have made it a target, but officials say Iran has misjudged their reaction, and that far from urging Donald Trump to end the war, they now view Iran as a priority threat in their region.
Presidential advisor Anwar Gargash has said Iran’s “misguided calculations” have pushed the UAE to seek closer security ties with Washington.
Along with Bahrain, it was one of the only Gulf countries to sign a joint statement alongside European leaders and others, expressing their “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia has already expelled two Iranian diplomats and the government has said what “little trust” there was before the war has been “shattered”.
On the other end of the spectrum is Oman, a longtime mediating force. Its foreign minister has said the US has “lost control of its foreign policy” in a very public op-ed in the Economist, urging for all parties to return to the negotiating table.
No matter their differing views, should Iran’s regime survive this war, it will likely find itself even more isolated than before, with countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia less focused on diplomacy and more on deterrence.