Frustration in Gulf states with Donald Trump is growing: "We are paying the price"
US allies in the region fear that the president is failing to bring an end to the war with Iran: "Washington is not enough."
According to a report in the Washington Post, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain are frustrated with the conduct of the American administration regarding Iran. Some Gulf states have begun discussing the benefit of continuing to host large American military bases on their territory.
A source in the Gulf stated: "Donald Trump started the war and we are paying the price." According to him, the anger at the USA is at its peak since the war began in February. The defense agreement signed last week by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan is also seen as a message to Washington: from their perspective, the USA is not enough.
The frustration with the conduct of the Donald Trump administration is growing among the United States' allies in the Gulf, who fear that the American president is failing to manage the diplomatic moves necessary to bring an end to the war with Iran, Arab and Western sources told the Washington Post. According to the report, after months of fighting and continued missile and drone launches by Iran and its proxies, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain are increasingly frustrated with Washington's conduct.
Three sources and a former American diplomat told the newspaper that some of the countries have even begun discussing whether there is a point in continuing to host large American military facilities on their territory. The concern in the Gulf also focuses on the way Donald Trump manages the tensions with Iran. In recent weeks, the president has repeatedly threatened Tehran, but then retreated from the threats and explained that progress had been made in the talks.
Despite the frustration, the Gulf states still rely heavily on the United States as a close security partner and a major arms supplier. However, some of the countries have already begun to examine other options. One sign of this is the Mecca Agreement — the defense agreement signed last week by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. A senior European official who is in constant contact with leaders in the Gulf said that the agreement was a signal to the United States that these three powerful Sunni states are trying to diversify their security and defense partnerships.
The White House rejected the claims of a crisis in relations, stating that Donald Trump has exceptional relations with all the partners in the Gulf. Bader Al-Saif, a history lecturer at Kuwait University, said that Donald Trump's inconsistency in the months that have passed since has caused concern in the Gulf: "Even before all these zigzags of Donald Trump, there was no clear strategy."
