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Gulf States Press U.S. to Neutralize Iran for Good as Hormuz Strait Crisis Deepens
(Reuters) Samia Nakhoul - Many Gulf Arab states are now urging the U.S. not to leave the Islamic Republic able to threaten the Gulf's oil lifeline and the economies that depend on it, three Gulf sources told Reuters. At the same time, Washington was pressing Gulf states to join the U.S.-Israeli war. "There is a wide feeling across the Gulf that Iran has crossed every red line with every Gulf country," said Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Saudi-based Gulf Research Center. "At first we defended them [Iran] and opposed the war. But once they began directing strikes at us, they became an enemy. There is no other way to classify them." Tehran has attacked airports, ports, oil facilities and commercial hubs in the six Gulf states with missiles and drones while disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The attacks have reinforced Gulf fears that leaving Iran with any significant offensive weaponry or arms manufacturing capacity could embolden it to hold the region's energy lifeline hostage whenever tensions rise. As the war entered its third week, with Iran firing at U.S. bases and civilian targets across the Gulf, a Gulf source said the prevailing mood among leaders was that Trump should comprehensively degrade Iran's military capacity. The alternative, the source said, was living under constant threat. Unless Iran was severely weakened, it would continue to hold the region to ransom.