As missiles, aircraft and drones streak across the Middle East and embassies are attacked and hotels and apartments are set ablaze, the United States\u2019 allies are sticking by the White House. For now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes, killing Iran\u2019s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top lieutenants, Iran has retaliated, hitting neighboring Gulf states that are home to U.S. military bases and targeted sites critical to the world\u2019s production of oil and natural gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some nations have already been forced to take action, including Qatar, which, a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday, downed Iranian jets after they entered the country\u2019s airspace and were warned to leave as they headed toward the capital, Doha, according to Reuters. Qatar is home to Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s decision to retaliate across the Middle East has amounted to a strategic mistake, isolating Tehran and angering neighbors, according to three high-ranking Arab diplomats with direct knowledge of the state of play and public statements from around the region. Yet as the war widens in the region with President Donald Trump signaling no clear end in sight, questions grow about how much Gulf allies can take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re put in this situation; we have to deal with it,\u201d a veteran Arab diplomat told NBC News. \u201cThe Gulf countries have no choice \u2014 it was a huge mistake for Iran to strike the Arab neighbors. People are furious. They should not have attacked our bases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other American allies in the region have also been attacked, including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, all of which joined Qatar condemning \u201cIran\u2019s indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks against sovereign territories across the region\u201d in a joint statement issued Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qatar repeated its call for \u201can immediate cessation of all escalatory actions, a return to the negotiating table and efforts to contain the crisis in a way that preserves the security of the region, safeguards the interests of its peoples, and prevents a slide into wider confrontations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council started a joint command center in Riyadh and began coordinating with U.S. Central Command over incoming strikes, another Arab diplomat said. But there is widespread anger over the attacks by Iran, the diplomat said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was unprovoked and unwarranted,\u201d one of the diplomats said. \u201cWe had been very clear and had been in communication with them that we would not let the U.S. or Israel use our airspace. We had told them that an attack on anyone in our territory is wrong \u2014 it\u2019s criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CIA headquarters in Riyadh, on the U.S. Embassy compound, was hit by a suspected Iranian drone Tuesday, though no casualties were reported, according to a Gulf official. The attack follows an earlier attack on the embassy by two drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the early hours of the U.S. operation, there were concerns that Iran\u2019s retaliatory strikes had come much more quickly and widely than expected. But a former administration official said that Iran\u2019s strikes were within the realm of what was expected and that Gulf allies have been largely effective at intercepting Iran\u2019s missiles and drones. Israel achieved air supremacy within the first 48 hours, which helped the U.S. move in quickly afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kuwait\u2019s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a separate statement that Kuwait affirmed its right to defend itself under Article 51 of the United Nations charter, which gives countries the right to \u201cself-defense\u201d in response to attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. has a long-standing defense relationship with Kuwait, and thousands of American soldiers are stationed there. U.S. Central Command said six American service members were killed in an Iranian strike against a military facility Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran itself cited Article 51 in a statement from its Foreign Affairs Ministry, shortly after the first round of attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday. Iran said responding to the aggression was a \u201clegal and legitimate right.\u201d It added that it would use all of its \u201cmight and resources to confront this criminal aggression and repel the enemy\u2019s evil act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the diplomats said that the region was resolved and that it would back the U.S., drawn together over Iran. \u201cWe have no choice. We have to go along with whatever the U.S. does,\u201d the diplomat said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Arab Emirates and Jordan, both of which have been rocked by explosions and fires in recent days, expressed concern about the U.S. attacks but denounced Iran\u2019s retaliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After it received a call from Trump on Monday, Jordan\u2019s government said on X that King Abdullah II had emphasized the \u201cneed to work towards achieving comprehensive and sustainable calm that contributes to restoring stability and achieving peace in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His message echoed the UAE\u2019s statement Saturday, which called \u201cfor restraint and a recourse to diplomatic solutions and serious dialogue, emphasizing that this remains the most effective path to overcoming the current crisis and safeguarding regional security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Egypt, in a statement Tuesday, and Iraq, in a similar missive, also called for preventing escalation of violence in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, there were few signs that either the U.S. or Israel were willing to relent. Across Tehran, the sound of explosions rang out overnight into Tuesday as the U.S. and Israel continued to pound the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, while he has given varying answers about his reason for war and his goals for the attack, said the projections had been for \u201cfour to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also defended the decision to go to war. Without providing evidence, he said in an interview on Fox News that Iran was rebuilding \u201cnew sites, new places\u201d that would make \u201ctheir ballistic missile program and their atomic bomb program immune within months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n