Gulf allies privately make the case to Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated

President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) 2026-03-30T21:38:25Z WASHINGTON (AP) — Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are urging President Donald Trump to continue prosecuting the war against Iran , arguing that Tehran hasn’t been weakened enough by the monthlong U.S.-led bombing campaign, according to U.S., Gulf and Israeli officials.

After private grumbling at the start of the war that they were not given adequate advance notice of the U.S.-Israeli attack and complaining the U.S. had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran’s clerical rule once and for all.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have conveyed in private conversations that they do not want the military operation to end until there are significant changes in the Iranian leadership or there’s a dramatic shift in Iranian behavior, according to the officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The push from the Gulf nations comes as Trump vacillates between claiming that Iran’s decimated leadership is ready to settle the conflict and threatening to further escalate the war if a deal is not reached soon.

All the while, Trump is struggling to rally public support at home for a war that’s left more than 3,000 dead across the Mideast and is s haking the global economy.

Yet the U.S. leader is sounding increasingly confident that he has the full support of his most important Mideast allies — including some that were hesitant about a new military campaign in the lead-up to the war. “Saudi Arabia’s fighting back hard.

Qatar is fighting back.

UAE is fighting back.

Kuwait’s fighting back.

Bahrain’s fighting back,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday evening as he made his way to Washington from his home in Florida. “They’re all fighting back.” The Gulf countries host U.S. forces and bases from which the U.S. has launched strikes on Iran, but have not joined the offensive strikes.

Gulf allies support the war to varying degrees While regional leaders are broadly supportive now of the U.S. efforts, one Gulf diplomat described some division, with

原文链接: AP News