The Gulf Arab states are worried about the Iran war.
Not just because they are under attack from the Iranian regime, although that presents a real danger to their economies.
More specifically, they are worried that Trump won’t finish the job of getting rid of the Iranian regime.
Yousef al-Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the US: “A simple cease-fire isn’t enough. We need a conclusive outcome that addresses Iran’s full range of threats: nuclear capabilities, missiles, drones, terror proxies and blockades of international sea lanes…We want Iran as a normal…
— Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) March 25, 2026
Relations between Iran and the Gulf states have never actually been good, even before the Ayatollah Khomeini seized power. But back then, the issue was Iran’s alliance with the United States and its friendliness to Israel, neither of which is a serious problem now. The Gulf states are feverishly modernizing, relatively friendly to the West, and either publicly or covertly eager to normalize relations with Israel and build a strong regional economy not entirely based on oil.
Many people haven’t noticed for some reason, but Israel’s Arab neighbors defended it last year after Iran sent missiles and drones in retaliation for the 12-day war. There is already an informal “Abraham Alliance.”
Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing President Trump to continue the war against Iran.
Full Story: https://t.co/3p1ekcIww9 pic.twitter.com/2MKbnZLl8V
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) March 24, 2026
Ironically, the current Iranian regime helped push the Gulf states into the United States’ arms. The Shiite clerics were irredeemably hostile to the Sunni Arabs, and when you add to that the fact that Iranians are Persian and not Arab, and the culture and political clashes create an unbridgeable gap.
The Gulf states see it as very telling that Iran has attacked its Arab neighbors, and did so based on apparently long-standing orders that were to be implemented if the leadership was decapitated. While the current strikes may appear to be the flailing of a regime in its death throes, it’s clear that even the pre-war regime had set its sights not just on Israel, but all its neighbors.
So they want the regime gone. Dead, cremated, and the ashes scattered to the wind.
The UAE ambassador wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal outlining its view of the war, and it is telling.
The past 3½ weeks of war have confirmed what we have known for nearly 50 years—Iran’s revolution is a threat to global security and economic stability. We can’t let Iran hold the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and the global economy hostage. A simple cease-fire isn’t enough. We need a conclusive outcome that addresses Iran’s full range of threats: nuclear capabilities, missiles, drones, terror proxies and blockades of international sea lanes.
Forty miles away, the U.A.E. stands on the front line of this conflict. Iran has launched more than 2,180 missiles and drones at the Emirates, far more than at any other country. We have one of the world’s most effective defense shields and intercept more than 95% of these attacks.
Beyond our borders, Iran is striking airports, seaports and energy infrastructure. It is blockading energy shipments and supplies for fertilizer and manufacturing and threatening theme parks and cultural sites worldwide through its proxy network.
We have hardened our infrastructure and built an oil pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. But the region needs a coordinated effort to reopen this vital passage and restore energy supplies to global consumers.
This isn’t a war we wanted. Until hours before the first strike, Emirati officials undertook intensive diplomatic efforts from Tehran to Washington. We made clear to the Iranians that in the event of a war, U.A.E. territory and airspace wouldn’t be used for strikes on Iran. We knew we would be Iran’s first choice of targets. Not only because we are so near, but because we are so different. The U.A.E. is a modern, progressive, prosperous Muslim society that delivers for its people. We empower women and welcome all faiths. The U.A.E. is the argument Iran can’t win, the idea it can’t accept.
It has not gone unnoticed that Iran, which shouts “Death to America,” is hitting its Arab neighbors harder than Israel itself. A modernizing Middle East is a mortal threat to the Iranian regime, especially given that the Persian people are themselves familiar with modern culture (Persians are very well educated, lived in a modern society under the Shah, and want to rejoin civilization.
We are equally committed to our investment plans in the U.S. Our $1.4 trillion commitment is firm. The stronger our economic ties to America, the stronger both nations become—and the clearer our message to those who seek to destabilize the region.
Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been degraded. Its proxies have been weakened. More needs to be done to remove the missile and drone threats. And we are ready to join an international initiative to reopen the strait and keep it open.
We aren’t asking the U.S. to carry the full burden. We are defending our people, protecting regional stability and global prosperity, and demonstrating that real alliances are built on cooperation and contribution, not dependency.
We want Iran as a normal neighbor. It can be reclusive and even unwelcoming, but it can’t attack its neighbors, blockade international waters, or export extremism. Building a fence around the problem and wishing it goes away isn’t the answer. It would simply defer the next crisis.
Despite all the talk about how badly the war is going and the strains on our alliances, the truth is far different. The level of tactical success is unprecedented, and nobody expected that Operation Epic Fury would be as painless as kidnapping Maduro. The left wants Trump to fail and is cheerleading for it.
At this point I’m convinced they’d root for Hitler over him.
— Mr Le’Meme (@MrLeMemeLeGreat) March 24, 2026
So don’t believe the doomers. Our alliances in the Middle East are stronger today than ever, and the Europeans are coming around despite their hatred for Trump. They need us.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! The UAE Minister of State just SHOCKED the fake news that claimed Gulf nations were “backing away” from relations with President Trump and the US over Iran
“The US is a CLEAR partner to us…we intend to DOUBLE DOWN.” 🔥
They lied again!pic.twitter.com/BRUtTdLpwC
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 25, 2026
Obviously, the Iranian regime gets a vote, and while it has few cards to play, it is playing them and imposing high economic costs on the world with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. That is a thorny problem, and it will likely take weeks to resolve.
That sucks.
But our Arab allies are right: we have to finish the job.
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