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Why Are Gulf Countries Not Speaking Out Against Their Rival Iran?
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 18, 2023. Iran’s Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Since 1979, Iran has been a problem for Arab Gulf capitals. Tehran has exported its radical Islamism and terrorism across the region, built loyalist militias, agitated popular opinion against Gulf governments, and pursued a nuclear weapon.
Yet, when Israel sent its fighter jets to finally confront the troublemaking Iranian regime, all six nations of the Gulf Countries Council (GCC) behaved in a mind-boggling way: They denounced “the Israeli aggression” and worked the phones, including with President Trump, to “de-escalate” the situation. There is an explanation for the Gulf’s behavior.
Abdul-Rahman al-Rashed, one of the sharpest Saudi intellectuals, explained the Saudi thinking. In an interview last September, Rashed said that Riyadh lost confidence in America’s commitment to Saudi security.
In 2019, Iran struck Saudi oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais. After saying that America was “locked and loaded” to punish Iran in response, President Trump called off the American strike.
Rashed argues that Riyadh was not seeking the US military to fight on behalf of the Saudis, but that the kingdom believed it was protected by American deterrence against its enemies — and Washington let them down.
The Saudi intellectual also said that war with Iran would be much costlier to the Saudis than to the Iranians. The kingdom is among the top 20 economies in the world, and has six or more thriving economic centers. Iran’s puny economy, however, means that Tehran has little to lose in case of war.
Because American unpredictability eroded Saudi confidence, the kingdom decided to seek an alternative. In 2023, Riyadh restored relations with Tehran. The agreement was signed in Beijing, in the hope that China — the senior partner in its alliance with Iran — could guarantee Iranian non-belligerence toward the kingdom.
To curry more favor with Tehran, in April 2025, Riyadh deployed its second-in-command and MBS’s brother, Defense Minister Khaled, to Iran. The Saudi official warned Iranians of an impending strike if Tehran did not give up its uranium enrichment. To its detriment, Tehran ignored the Saudi warning.
Even after Israel’s impressive opening act in the war with Islamist Iran, the Saudis still did not rejoice. Perhaps Riyadh calculated that if the Islamist regime in Tehran falls, they will be relieved, but if it does not, the Saudis would have curried enough favor with the Iranians that would spare the kingdom Tehran’s post-war wrath.
Hedging has also been part of the calculus of the second biggest GCC country, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE had a bitter military experience with Trump. In 2019, when pro-Emirati forces were about to take the strategic Port of Hodeida from the Houthis in Yemen, Washington urged them to step back. Once again, an Arab state felt it could not count on the US for support against Iran.
And just as Saudi Arabia’s economic centers are vulnerable to Iranian missiles, so are the UAE’s main cities — Dubai and Abu Dhabi — which the late Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah called “glass cities” and threatened to smash.
Under President Biden, the Gulf had an even tougher time dealing with Washington. Biden had promised to turn Saudi Arabia into a pariah state, stopped the sale of offensive weapons to Riyadh in the middle of its war against the Houthis, suspended an F-35 sale to the UAE, and removed the Houthis from the US terrorism list.
Biden reversed all these measures, but the damage had already been done. When he knocked on Riyadh and Abu Dhabi’s doors, inviting them to join a US-led coalition against the Houthis, the two Gulf governments balked. America’s credibility problem persisted.
Without American deterrence and enough air defense, the economically prosperous Saudis and Emiratis have much more to lose than the impoverished Iranians and their militias. This is why, while wishing that the Iran regime would collapse, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have not publicly expressed such a sentiment. Unofficial Saudi voices might still be heard on social media, capturing the true anti-Iran popular sentiment — but the governments themselves are taking a “wait and see” approach.
In May, President Trump visited Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Doha (Qatar’s capital). Qatar’s policy significantly differs from that of its two bigger GCC neighbors.
On Tuesday, former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jasim, argued on X that “the Gulf region will pay, and is already paying, a heavy price” for the Israeli-Iranian war. “It is not in the interest of Gulf states to see Iran, their large neighbor, collapse. Such a situation would inevitably lead to a destructive spiral … with severe consequences for everyone.”
To avoid such an eventuality, Hamad suggested that Gulf capitals use their influence with Washington to “immediately halt the Israeli madness.”
Also on X, a Saudi columnist immediately rebutted the former Qatari official. “Your tweet reflects [only] the Qatari position on the Iranian regime,” wrote Saleh al-Fhaid.
“Many Gulf citizens [believe] that Iran is more dangerous to them than Israel,” Fhaid added. “The overthrow of the mullahs’ regime is thus in the interest of Gulf states, and the price of this regime’s demise, however painful, harsh, and costly, is far less than the state of attrition that this regime has been practicing against Gulf states for four decades.”
Fhaid then explained the motive behind Qatar’s pro-Iran position: “Some Gulf states view the mullahs’ regime as a guarantee for creating a regional balance. Other Gulf states view the mullahs’ regime as an existential threat.”
The debate in GCC nations, over the fate of Iran’s Islamist regime, is vibrant, even if muffled. The general sentiment wants to see the regime gone. As Fhaid spelled it out, the governments of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait see Islamist Iran as an existential threat. Qatar and Oman believe that they can use Iran to offset Saudi Arabia. All six governments pretend that neutrality and mediation is their best bet — but each one of the two blocs hopes for a different outcome.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD).
The post Why Are Gulf Countries Not Speaking Out Against Their Rival Iran? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week
Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism
A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.
The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.
“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.
“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”
Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.
According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.
During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.
As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.
No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.
“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.
“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.
“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.
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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution
German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.