Six months into the US-Iran war, frustration is growing among some of Washington’s closest Gulf partners over US President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict and his failure so far to secure a lasting
diplomatic breakthrough with Iran.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are increasingly concerned about the course of the war and the cost they are being forced to bear, The Washington Post reported, citing Arab and Western officials. Some governments have even begun debating the utility of continuing to host large US military installations on their territory.
The prolonged conflict is also prompting some Gulf states to explore new security arrangements and diversify their defence partnerships, raising questions over whether Washington’s traditional hold over the region is beginning to weaken.
Why Are Gulf States Frustrated With Trump?
The immediate source of anger is the inability to bring the war to an end.
Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran in recent weeks before stepping back and citing progress in talks. According to officials quoted by The Post, the repeated shifts have deepened doubts in Gulf capitals over whether Washington has a clear diplomatic strategy.
“Trump started this war,” one Gulf official told the newspaper, “and we are paying the price.”
The official said anger towards the US was at its highest point since Washington and Israel attacked Iran in February.
Firas Maksad, director for the Middle East and North Africa practice at Eurasia Group, told The Post that Gulf allies felt they had been “unnecessarily entangled” in the conflict. Trump’s Iran policy, he said, was widely regarded in the region as “erratic” and “unpredictable”.
Anna Jacobs, a fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said there had been “diminished trust” in the US since the war began, with allies believing that Washington’s “conduct in the region is making them less safe, not more safe”.
Why Are US Bases Now Part Of The Debate?
The frustration has gone beyond diplomacy. Some Gulf governments have begun debating the utility of continuing to host major US military installations.
Qatar and Bahrain host large US military bases, while Gulf states continue to rely on Washington as a key security partner and major arms supplier.
A Western diplomat told WaPo that even before the war, the American military presence was not necessarily welcomed with enthusiasm. “It was more something that was a necessary evil,” the diplomat said. “Now, the necessity of it is being put in question.”
That debate remains limited by one basic reality: the Gulf states do not currently have an obvious replacement for the United States as their principal security partner.
One Gulf official acknowledged as much. “Whatever we do,” he said, “we cannot say no to the United States.”
Why Saudi Arabia Is Feeling The Pressure Most
Saudi Arabia has been among the Gulf states most directly exposed to the consequences of the war.
The kingdom has faced attacks from Iran and Iran-backed groups in Iraq, while the Houthis in Yemen have repeatedly targeted Saudi energy infrastructure and attempted to disrupt the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
That pressure has become more significant because Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz early in the war. According to International Energy Agency data, Saudi Arabia had been shipping more than five million barrels of oil a day through Hormuz before the closure. The strait as a whole handled close to one-fifth of global oil supplies.
With Hormuz closed, Saudi Arabia has had to rely more heavily on its Red Sea ports for oil exports. That has made Houthi attempts to disrupt the Bab al-Mandab route an additional concern for Riyadh.
Gulf Attitudes Towards The War Have Shifted
Not all Gulf states viewed the war the same way at the outset. Oman opposed the conflict from the beginning, while Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain were initially less firmly against it. “At the beginning of the war, they were — I don’t want to say, supportive — but honestly, they were not totally against the war,” a senior European official told The Post.
According to the official, the calculation in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi was that a quick and decisive outcome could ultimately work in their favour.
That view began to change ahead of the first round of US-Iran talks in April, when it became clear that the Iranian regime would remain in place and that the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen.
Why Trump’s Diplomacy Is Also Under Scrutiny
The concerns are not only about the duration of the war. Gulf states are also unhappy with what they see as the lack of a clear US strategy towards Iran.
Bader Al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University and a fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told The Post that the uncertainty had existed even before Trump’s recent shifts.
“Even before all this back and forth with Trump, there was no clear strategy,” he said.
Al-Saif was particularly critical of the memorandum of understanding reached between the US and Iran in June. “The MOU was a joke,” he said.
According to him, the agreement did not address key Gulf concerns, including Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its support for proxy forces. “Those terms were not terms of our liking,” he said, “and that’s why it died out sooner than later.”
For Gulf governments, therefore, the issue is not simply whether Washington can end the fighting. It is also whether any settlement addresses the threats they consider most important.
Is Saudi Arabia Looking Beyond Washington?
The clearest sign of diversification came last week, when Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual defence agreement.
A senior European official told The Post that the agreement was “a signal to the U.S.” The three countries “are trying to diversify their security and defence partnerships,” the official said. “In their mind, the US is not enough.”
Why The Gulf Still Cannot Simply Walk Away From The US
Despite growing anger, the military relationship with Washington remains difficult to replace. The Gulf states continue to rely heavily on American weapons, training, intelligence, munitions and broader military support.
Douglas Silliman, a former US ambassador to Kuwait and Iraq and now president of the Arab Gulf States Institute, described the mood in the region to The Post as “kind of this odd contradiction of being mad at the United States for starting the war and being dependent upon the United States” for equipment, munitions and intelligence.
What Does The White House Say?
The White House has rejected suggestions that Trump’s ties with Gulf partners are deteriorating. A White House official told The Post that Trump “has extraordinary relationships with all of our Gulf partners”.
“The United States has been in regular contact with all of our regional allies since before Operation Epic Fury,” the official said. “Iran is more isolated than ever before as a result of its terrorist actions.”
The official also defended Trump’s approach to negotiations with Tehran. Trump “has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy,” the official said.
“Unfortunately, Iran chose the path of violence by killing American troops, committing international acts of terrorism, and lashing out at its neighbors in the region — and the Commander-in-Chief ensured that they reaped the consequences of those decisions.”
