Gulf states fear fiercer Iran retaliation if US strikes again

Fresh fighting would inflict further damage on a region battered by months of war. Iran has fired thousands of missiles and drones at Gulf states, striking sites including oil facilities, airports and power plants. U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb, Pool Photo, Getty Images via TNS) (Tribune News Service) — Gulf states fear that another U.S.-Israeli attack on a better-prepared Iran could unleash an even more destructive war across the region, leaving them to pick up the pieces. “We find ourselves drawn within a crisis that we worked diplomatically very hard to try to avert,” Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE’s president, told the IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Sunday.

“We are clearly seeking a political off-ramp.” President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. and Israel would “finish the job” in Iran. Trump has ruled out fresh strikes before Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, but has left open the possibility of renewed attacks while peace talks remain deadlocked. Fresh fighting would inflict further damage on a region battered by months of war. Iran has fired thousands of missiles and drones at Gulf states, striking sites including oil facilities, airports and power plants. The attacks have killed and injured dozens of civilians