Donald Trump’s decision to join Israel’s military campaign against Iran has shaken Gulf capitals that only weeks ago rolled out the red carpet for the US president and urged him to hold his fire.
While Gulf leaders last month feted Trump with pageantry and trillion dollar investment pledges, behind the scenes the monarchies pressed him to stick to diplomacy with Tehran and avoid a regional war they believe would threaten their security and stability.
Iran has long been a major political and military rival to the Gulf’s largest economies — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — but they have sought to build bridges in recent years and the eruption of a volatile new Mideast conflict has unnerved the oil and gas rich states.