Arab leaders warn of catastrophe as US strikes on Iran raise spectre of wider war

Arab leaders warn of catastrophe as US strikes on Iran raise spectre of wider war

Arab governments reacted with rare unity and deep unease on Sunday following US President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb three of Iran’s nuclear sites. From Riyadh to Muscat, leaders condemned the strikes and warned that the region stands at the brink of a catastrophic escalation. For countries long aligned with US security interests, the mood has changed dramatically. Now, Arab leaders fear that their territory, economies, and populations could become collateral in a direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran, the Washington Post reported.

Saudi Arabia, once a vocal critic of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, condemned the US attack as a violation of Iranian sovereignty. The UAE expressed “deep concern.” Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet and within direct range of Iran’s missiles, issued a stark warning about the “horrors and dangers of war.” Oman, a traditional mediator between Iran and the West, said the American strikes “threaten to expand the scope of the conflict and constitute a serious violation of international law.”

A shift in regional politics

These statements mark a significant departure from 2019–2020, when Trump last brought the region to the brink of war with Iran. At the time, Arab governments quietly supported efforts to pressure Tehran, including US withdrawal from the nuclear deal. But since then, the region has moved toward rapprochement: Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic relations with Iran in 2023 after a Beijing-brokered agreement, and the UAE has embraced de-escalation as part of its broader economic strategy.

Gulf leaders now see stability—not confrontation—as key to growth. As political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla put it: “It was since covid onward, we decided to pursue a policy of de-escalation, to concentrate on the economy as much as security.” Today’s hawks have become diplomats—and they are sounding the alarm.

Fear of becoming battlegrounds

The fear is not abstract. Iran has threatened US military facilities throughout the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, and Jordan. These countries host thousands of American troops, and some are already feeling the impact. In Bahrain, authorities ordered 70 percent of government workers to stay home on Sunday. In Jordan, King Abdullah II convened emergency security meetings. In Kuwait, contingency plans were activated to protect financial operations.

While Iran has suffered strategic losses to Israel over the past year—including the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and blows to its proxy networks—Arab governments do not view this as justification for wider war. The calculus has changed: with regional economies still recovering post-pandemic, war threatens infrastructure, investment, oil markets, and the social fabric.

Arab world sees Israel, not Iran, as destabilizing force

Underlying this shift is a broader political realignment. Israel’s prolonged campaign in Gaza, which began nearly two years ago, has soured its standing across much of the Arab world. Where once Israel and Gulf states shared quiet alignment on Iran, many now see Israel’s actions—especially strikes deep into Iranian territory—as the greater threat to regional peace.

At an emergency Arab League meeting Friday, all 22 member states condemned the “Israeli aggression” on Iran and called for diplomacy. According to Renad Mansour of Chatham House, “This is a proper war now. I don’t think many people know where we end up when everything settles.”

Gulf states call on Trump to stop escalation

Even as Tehran remains widely unpopular among Arab publics and elites, the consensus is clear: the US should have restrained Israel, not joined its campaign. “There’s a pyromaniac in the room,” said H.A. Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute, “and we want the firemen to come and put out the fire — instead, they’re just adding more fire.”

Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have already conveyed to Washington that their territory must not be used as a launchpad for further strikes on Iran. Yet Trump’s decision, made from his New Jersey golf club, has raised fears that Arab countries might be dragged into war regardless of their efforts to remain neutral.

“This is not what we want”

For many Arab officials, Trump’s move echoes the worst moments of the past—wars in Iraq, Kuwait, Yemen, and beyond. As Emirati analyst Abdulla put it, “We tried to build momentum for de-escalation in the region, but now we have our seventh war. This is not what we want as Gulf states.”

With missiles flying, oil markets jittery, and regional unity crumbling under the weight of renewed conflict, Arab governments are now scrambling to avoid becoming the next front in a war they desperately hoped to prevent.