Caught in the crossfire of the United States and Israels war with Iran, Americas allies in the Persian Gulf face a stark choice: maintain their defensive posture or join the fight against the Islamic republic.
Iran has fired thousands of drones and missiles at US military and diplomatic facilities and damaged key energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait since the war began on February 28. By choking off the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for global oil and gas supplies, Tehran has also robbed its Arab neighbors of their key exports.
Facing what they consider to be an existential threat, Saudi Arabia and the UAE -- the Gulfs largest economies and military powers -- are considering a shift to a more offensive posture, according to media reports, a move that experts say could expose them to even harsher Iranian retaliation.
Experts say Saudi Arabia and the UAE are unlikely to join the war directly but could expand their logistical support to the United States and put economic pressure on Iran.
In practice, joining the war would most likely mean greater access for US forces to bases and airspace, tougher enforcement against Iranian commercial and financial networks in the Gulf, and tightly limited defensive military actions -- not an open-ended bombing campaign on Iran, said Christopher Davidson, a scholar of Middle East politics and a fellow at Durham University in the United Kingdom.
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That already appears to be under way. Riyadh recently agreed to allow US forces to use the King Fahd air base, located near the Red Sea in the southwest of the kingdom,The Wall Street Journalreported on March 23.
That would mark a significant shift. Saudi Arabia, like its Arab neighbors, had pledged that its airspace and military facilities would not be used to attack Iran.
Iran has accused the Gulf states, many of which house US military bases, of aiding the American war effort. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchisaidon March 25 that there was evidence that shows that services were provided to the Americans by regional countries.
Riyadh ordered the expulsion of Irans military attache and four embassy staff on March 21, citing what it called continued Iranian attacks on Saudi territory.
