Gulf Arab allies press U.S. to avoid strike on Iran

Powerful Gulf Arab allies of President Trump are urging his administration to pursue diplomacy rather than a military strike on Iran as Mr. Trump explores whether to attack the country amid nationwide protests and a violent government crackdown, the report said. Mr. Trump has also said he was "told that killing in Iran is stopping, has stopped." Gulf governments fear that escalating U.S.-Iran tensions or possible state failure in Iran would harm their own security and undermine their reputations as regional safe havens for business and tourism.

Analysts quoted in the report said some Gulf states also view Israel as a potentially greater threat to regional stability if Iran were neutralized; Bader al-Saif of Kuwait University said "bombing Iran goes against the calculus and interests of the Arab Gulf States." The Sultanate of Oman has advised the administration against striking Iran, a person briefed on the talks said.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, told reporters that the region should "return to the negotiating table." The report noted that an American military base in Qatar was struck by Iran last year after U.S. forces bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities, and, as a precaution, the U.S.

military has ordered an unspecified number of nonessential personnel to start evacuating that base, according to two U.S. military officials.

Key Topics

World, Iran, Gulf Cooperation Council, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia