THE NEW YORK TIMES: While several of the Gulf Arab countries harbor little love for Iran, they worry that the consequences of rising tensions could blow back on them.
President Trump’s powerful Gulf Arab allies fear the repercussions of a potential American strike on Iran, and some of them are publicly and privately lobbying his administration to choose diplomacy instead.
As protests convulse Iran and the government wages a violent crackdown on demonstrators, Mr. Trump is exploring whether to attack the country, in what he has described as an effort to deter its leaders from killing more of its own people. He has also weighed diplomatic options. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he had been “told that killing in Iran is stopping, has stopped.”
Even Gulf governments that have engaged in indirect conflict with Iran — such as Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia — do not support American military action there, according to analysts who study the region.
That is partly because the monarchies of the Gulf worry that the ripple effects of escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, or possible state failure in Iran, would harm their own security, undermining their reputation as regional safe havens for business and tourism. » | Vivian Nereim | Reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Wednesday, January 14, 2026
