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Argument An expert’s point of view on a current event. Gulf States Are Hedging and Suffering Neither appealing to Washington nor diversifying security partners nor back-channeling with Tehran is insulating the region from the consequences…

video footage shows a tank leaking at the scene of a fire at the Aramco fuel depot near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on on Sept. 19. AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images Get audio access with any FP subscription.…

simultaneously increasing the risk of Iranian attacks. In response, the GCC states have adopted several overlapping strategies. They continue to cooperate with the United States, particularly to defend militarily against Iranian strikes.…

accommodation with Tehran. As the Iran war drags on, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—face an acute paradox. They still depend on the United States for…

regional security relationships, pursuing diplomacy, and, when necessary, engaging directly with Tehran. The last of these measures may seem duplicitous, but for Gulf states, it is a necessary survival mechanism. What’s more, a long war…

have little choice but to stick with their main protector while the drones and missiles are flying, but they are nonetheless growing more nuanced and less U.S.-centric as the conflict drags on. The largest and most influential GCC member,…

Analysis Where Do the Gulf States Go From Here? The U.S. war with Iran has shattered their economic model. Cook-Steve-foreign-policy-columnist4 Steven A. Cook By Steven A. Cook , a columnist at Foreign Policy and the Eni Enrico Mattei…

disruptions. Gallo Images/USGS/NASA Landsat data processed by Orbital Horizon via Getty Images Get audio access with any FP subscription. Subscribe Now ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN April 10, 2026, 4:35 PM Iran War Analysis and news. I…