Arab states in the Gulf and beyond that home, American assets have been targets of Iranian retaliatory attacks during the war.
Published March 7, 2026
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said neighboring countries will no longer be targets unless an attack originates from there, as the war launched by the United States and Israel, which triggered sustained retaliation from Tehran across the Gulf and beyond, enters its second week.
Iran’s interim leadership council approved the motion on Friday, Pezeshkian said Saturday.
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In statements broadcast by the Iranian media, the president also apologized to neighboring countries for the attacks that occurred in recent days.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, have been attacked due to the presence of US assets in and around their borders. Iraq, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye are also in the spotlight.
In the Gulf, there have been deaths, damage and major disruptions to flights, the closure of airspace and a strong knock-on impact on oil and gas production that reverberates around the world.
Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said exports from the Gulf region could stop “within weeks” if the war with Iran continues to escalate, causing turbulence in global energy markets.
Al-Kaabi told The Financial Times (FT) newspaper in an interview published on Friday that if the war continues for weeks, “GDP growth around the world will be affected.”
“The price of energy for everyone is going to rise. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that will not be able to supply,” al-Kaabi said.
The only American deaths in the war so far came when Iran attacked a US command center in Kuwait, killing six.
More than 1,200 Iranians have been killed in attacks between the United States and Israel during the first week of the war.
