Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf allies are privately pressing U.S. President Donald Trump to keep prosecuting the war against Iran, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
They argue that a month of U.S.-led strikes has not weakened Tehran enough, according to U.S., Gulf and Israeli officials.
The officials told the news agency that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading calls to intensify military pressure—with the Emirates favoring a ground invasion—while Oman and Qatar push for a diplomatic end to the conflict.
Gulf leaders want any eventual deal to force major changes in Iran’s behavior, including curbing its nuclear and missile programs and stopping support for terrorist proxy groups, even as Tehran warns it could target neighbors’ critical infrastructure if the war escalates.
Meanwhile, Trump is weighing a push for Arab countries to help pay for the U.S.-Israeli war against the Iranian regime, the White House said on Monday. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump “would be quite interested” in calling on Gulf states to share the costs, recalling how Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates bankrolled much of the 1990-91 Gulf War.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that Jerusalem was in the process of “forming alliances with Arab countries that are talking about fighting alongside us.”
“In the past, I had secret conversations with Arab leaders. I told them that once Iran is able, it will conquer you and bring down your kingdoms. Back then, they didn’t really internalize this—today, they understand,” the premier told reporters on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
