An hour after US and Israeli attacks on Iran, Tehran hit Arab states hard on Saturday, expanding the war beyond its borders and prompting warnings of escalation from the Gulf.
After weeks of Tehran warning that if attacked it would attack America’s Arab allies that host American military and naval bases, Iran quickly retaliated. In its initial attacks, Iran reportedly attacked the US military at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Ali Al Salem Base in Kuwait, Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates and the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. All missiles and drones were shot down and no casualties were reported.
The bombings marked the first time in history that Tehran directly attacked the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait. It was a clear departure from the previous 12-day conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran in June 2025, when Iran telegraphed an attack on the Al Udeid air base in Doha hours in advance. That allowed Qatar and the US military to shoot down their missiles and life to return to normal a few hours later.
Why do we write this?
The Arab Gulf states, which host US military bases, have for weeks urged dialogue and denied the US access to their airspace for an attack on Iran. Now caught in the crossfire, they are looking for a way to defend their nations while minimizing escalation.
The only Arab Gulf country from which Iran dispensed with its rockets was Oman, which had been mediating indirect talks between Tehran and Washington on the Iranian nuclear program, the latest round of which ended on Thursday.
In the weeks leading up to Saturday’s attacks, Gulf states had been advocating for diplomacy and publicly and privately pressuring the Trump administration not to attack Iran. In an attempt to appease Tehran, they, along with Jordan, denied that the United States was using their airspace to conduct airstrikes against Iran.
Now, amid growing concerns about a protracted regional war, those states condemned Iran’s attacks as a violation of international law and national sovereignty. They reserved the right to retaliate, although they stopped short of outlining such plans, which could be detrimental to their interests.
“A full military attack on Iran is unlikely. The Gulf states have too much to lose – their economies, their energy exports, and their ambitious development plans – to risk being drawn into a broader war,” says Hesham Alghannam, a Saudi political scientist and non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center.
However, “if Iranian attacks continue, attitudes will harden,” he adds. “Gulf states will accelerate arms purchases, tighten security ties with the United States, and Saudi Arabia will likely push harder for its own civilian nuclear program.”
Iran targets Arab capitals
In its initial rocket attacks, Tehran quickly made clear that it was not only targeting the US military, but also Arab civilian areas.
In the space of an hour, Iranian ballistic missiles hit or were intercepted over Doha; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Manama, Bahrain; Kuwait City; Amman, Jordan; and, reportedly, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, striking at the heart of Arab states that for weeks had campaigned against US military action against Iran and urged diplomacy.
The initial round of rockets immediately disrupted daily life and the economies of Arab countries, which rely heavily on international finance and travel.
Amid the rockets, civil airspace was closed in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, major global transit hubs, as well as Bahrain and Kuwait.
The videos showed a Doha suburb hit by missile debris. An intercepted Iranian rocket fell on a house in Amman with no casualties reported. The explosions caused by the interception of Iranian rockets over the Jordanian capital shook the buildings of Amman.
In the Iranian attack on the United Arab Emirates, debris fell and killed an Asian citizen, Emirati authorities reported. It is the first confirmed death in what is expected to be a protracted regional war.
Bahraini authorities began a mass evacuation of residents in the central Juffair area of Manama, located near the US naval base.
Arab states characterized the Iranian response as direct attacks on their countries, although they have not yet outlined any retaliation plans:
- United Arab Emirates: The Emirati government said its air defense systems successfully intercepted Iranian missiles, calling it “a flagrant violation of national sovereignty” and “a dangerous escalation and cowardly act that threatens the safety of civilians and undermines stability.” He added that the government “reserves all the right to respond to this escalation and take all necessary measures to protect its territory, its citizens and its residents.”
- Bahrain: The Bahraini government’s National Communication Center described the bombings as “treasonous attacks” and stressed that the Bahraini government “reserves all the right to respond and take all necessary measures to protect national security and sovereignty, in coordination with its allies and partners.”
- Qatar: A former ally of Iran, he reiterated his call to resolve disputes through dialogue and “avoid the region from the risks of retaliation.” “Attacking Qatari territory is incompatible with the principles of good neighborliness and cannot be accepted under any pretext or justification,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said, adding that it “reserves all the right to respond to this attack in accordance with the provisions of international law and in a manner proportionate to the nature of the aggression.”
- Saudi Arabia: Riyadh condemned Iranian attacks against its neighbors and allies, “warning of serious consequences if such violations of international law continue.”
Despite harsh words from Arab states, they remain heavily reliant on U.S. military protection and missile defense systems, known as the U.S. security umbrella. That protection is now being pushed to the limit.
Fighter jets from the Jordanian armed forces scrambled on Saturday to shoot down Iranian rockets, but are expected to remain deployed in a defensive capacity. Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Al Momani said in a statement: “Jordan will not be party to any regional escalation.”
“Firm in defense, active on the diplomatic front”
The war will disrupt Ramadan and the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday in mid-March, important periods of commercial activity for Arab and Muslim states, and a period when hundreds of thousands of Arab expatriates return home to mark the holidays.
Unlike Israel, which has developed a network of public and private bomb shelters over the past two decades, there are very few such shelters in the Arab states.
Arab officials, citizens and residents were left bracing for a second barrage of more lethal guided Iranian rockets expected later Saturday night.
An Arab official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said the second and future rounds of Iranian rocket attacks were “the real test” and “when the real war begins.”
“The bottom line,” says Alghannam, the Saudi political scientist, “is that the Gulf response would be firm on defense, active on the diplomatic front, but careful to avoid actions that could escalate into a broader regional conflict.”
