Center East Powers Pulling Away From Iran
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf partners are showing signs they are pulling back from years of careful balancing with Iran as Tehran’s attacks spread across the region and shrink the space for neutrality.
For much of the past decade, key U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates tried to avoid a direct showdown with Tehran. They kept diplomatic and economic channels open while relying on U.S. security guarantees as a backstop. That approach was meant to keep Gulf capitals out of the blast zone. It is getting harder to sustain as Iran’s missile and drone campaign pushes past traditional flashpoints.
One of the clearest indicators of a shift is a reported Saudi move to grant U.S. forces access to King Fahd Air Base in Taif, a western facility that has not been used for American combat operations since the Gulf War era. The base sits deeper inside Saudi territory and farther from Iran’s most immediate missile and drone reach, giving Washington more strategic depth than many of the more exposed Gulf locations it has leaned on for decades.
Sources familiar with the matter, cited in Wall Street Journal reporting, said Saudi Arabia agreed to allow U.S. forces to use the base. The Pentagon and the Saudi embassy declined to comment. The muted public footprint is not unusual. Combat aircraft often operate with transponders off in potential combat zones, and Saudi Arabia’s tightly controlled media environment leaves little room for independent local reporting on foreign military activity.
The recalibration is not limited to Riyadh. The United Arab Emirates has moved aggressively against Iran-linked networks, shutting down institutions tied to Tehran and cracking down on activity connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following a wave of attacks. Bahrain has pushed at the United Nations for a Security Council resolution condemning Iranian strikes, while multiple Gulf governments have issued coordinated statements denouncing Iran’s actions and emphasizing their right to self-defense.
A Gulf official told Fox News Digital the Gulf states largely share the U.S. view that Iran’s missile development, uranium enrichment and support for militant proxies need to be “addressed and curtailed,” even as they remain opposed to strikes on critical infrastructure inside Iran.
RELATED: Trump Extends Iran Deadline As Talks Continue Amid Ongoing Conflict
Qatar has also taken concrete steps after Iranian attacks, including expelling Iranian military and security attachés. Even so, Doha has avoided severing full diplomatic ties, keeping its role as a mediator while hardening its posture. The Qatari prime minister traveled to Washington for talks focused on defense cooperation and protecting critical energy infrastructure, according to an official briefed on the visit.
Saudi officials have framed their posture as defensive and driven by escalating threats. “Our primary concern today is to defend ourselves from the daily attacks on our people and our civilian infrastructure,” the Saudi government said. “Iran has chosen dangerous brinkmanship over serious diplomatic solutions. This harms every stakeholder involved but none more than Iran itself.”
RELATED: Trump Exposes Iranian Leader’s Secret Life On Live TV
President Donald Trump argued the expanding target list has rattled capitals across the region as Iran’s campaign widened beyond the usual battle lines. “They start shooting in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman,” he said at a Cabinet meeting. “They start shooting at them. And they were, they were. Everybody was shocked, including us. You know why? Because they’re sick. And they had a plan to take over the Middle East.”
Even with the sharper turn toward Washington, Gulf leaders are still trying to avoid being dragged into open-ended combat operations. Analysts say many of these states are weighing the same hard reality: they will still have to live next door to Iran after the shooting stops, and any deeper military alignment carries long-term risk.
Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>