Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Oman urged the United States to refrain from launching airstrikes against Iran. This lobbying effort was prompted by concerns that a US attack could lead to a significant and intractable conflict across the Middle East. These warnings from long-standing US allies contributed to the decision by then-President Trump on Wednesday to hold off on military action.
Saudi Arabia denied the US use of its airspace for any potential attacks. Discussions continued, with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan conferring by phone with his counterparts from Iran, Oman, and Turkey on Thursday.
Regional Relations and Diplomacy
Iran maintains political distance from some Gulf states due to its support for regional proxies and its refusal to back a two-state solution for Palestine, as well as disputes over three islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates. However, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has undertaken visits to Arab capitals that have reportedly improved relations. For example, he visited Bahrain last year, the first Iranian minister to do so since 2010, and visited Cairo four times in an effort to improve relations, which had been severed in 2016. The Saudi-Iranian relationship has also been in a recovery phase for three years.
Gulf states are aware of the potential for Iran to disrupt maritime traffic in the Gulf. Araghchi has recently attempted to persuade Gulf states that Iran poses less of a risk to global stability than Israel. This argument was made more plausible after Israel bombed Doha last September, reportedly intending to kill Hamas negotiators residing in the Qatari capital. The Israeli strikes did not hit their primary targets but reportedly killed five lower-ranking members of the group.
The US, not informed of the Israeli strikes in advance, apologized directly to Qatar’s emir and offered new security guarantees for Doha to protect Qatar from further Israeli attacks. At the time, Qatar accused Israel of attempting to sabotage peace opportunities in the region.
US Military Presence and Calls for Dialogue
As tensions mounted, the US withdrew key personnel from its al-Udeid airbase in Qatar, its largest in the region. This withdrawal, following Tehran’s threats to hit US bases if attacked, highlighted how American land and naval bases designed to project power could also be sources of vulnerability.
The spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry, Majed al-Ansari, stated on Tuesday that the significant challenges in the region necessitate all parties returning to the negotiating table. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for dialogue, expressing hope that the United States and Iran would resolve the issue through mediators, other actors, or direct dialogue.