Persian Gulf Countries: US Bases Protection or Danger?

2026-03-22 14:12:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The perception that the US did not consult with regional allies before launching a war with Iran, and Iran's response, is raising questions in the Gulf states: Have US bases really made these countries safer?

The day before, in a major escalation of the war that began in late February when the US and Israel attacked Iran, the Iranians had targeted a key energy hub in Qatar. This followed an Israeli attack on Iran's South Pars gas field.

Saudi Arabia's patience is running out, the country's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said at a news conference. He stressed that his country would prefer a diplomatic solution and that it has made it clear that Saudi territory will not be allowed to be used to launch attacks against Iran. However, Saudi Arabia will use every means at its disposal to pressure Iran to stop attacks on neighboring countries that are not directly involved in the conflict, he added.

It is clear that the Gulf states are moving ever closer to being drawn into a war they never wanted to be a part of.

"It's not our war"

Even though Iran is the aggressor, disillusionment with the United States is growing in the region. Observers say the idea that the United States would protect the Gulf states simply because it has large military bases there has proven illusory — or at least far less effective than hoped. Many of the Iranian missiles and drones that have targeted Gulf states have failed to be intercepted by Gulf or US militaries.

Iran has justified its attacks on Gulf states by pointing out that they host these American bases — although Iranian missiles have also hit oil infrastructure and civilian facilities such as airports and hotels.

“This is Netanyahu’s war,” former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal said in an interview with CNN in early March, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “He somehow convinced the president [Donald Trump] to support his views.”

According to anonymous sources from the region, who spoke to the Associated Press in March, the US had also ignored warnings from Gulf states when it decided to enter the war.

Thus, the Gulf states have now learned a bitter lesson — that these American bases do not necessarily provide deterrence or protection and that, in fact, such bases turn the host country into a target.

The end of the era of "careful neutrality"?

Në fakt, bazat amerikane kanë bërë që shtetet e Gjirit të humbasin autonominë e tyre, shkruhej në një komentim arabisht në gazetën e financuar nga Katari, Al Araby Al Jadeed. Sipas komentuesit, bazat amerikane nuk i mbrojnë shtetet e Gjirit; ato i pengojnë të marrin vendime në mënyrë të pavarur dhe t'i mbrojnë vetë interesat e tyre.

Lufta me Iranin ka hapur një debat të ri për strategjinë dhe sigurinë, thonë vëzhguesit. Think?tanku me bazë në Katar, The Middle East Council on Global Affairs, e quan qëndrimin para luftës një formë të "neutralitetit të kujdesshëm”. Një qasje e tillë synonte të parandalonte shndërrimin e shteteve të Gjirit në fusha beteje dhe të siguronte që konfliktet të mos rrezikonin planet e tyre për zhvillim të ardhshëm.

"Fillimisht, përshtypja ishte se Izraeli — dhe deri diku edhe SHBA?ja — ishin përgjegjës për përshkallëzimin,” tha Bruno Schmidt?Feuerheerd, politolog dhe studiues në Universitetin e Oksfordit. Pasi Irani filloi të shënjestrojë shtetet e Gjirit, u bë e qartë se siguria e tyre varej nga palë të treta.

"Në këtë drejtim, zhgënjimi ka të bëjë kryesisht me aktorët e jashtëm,” i tha Schmidt?Feuerheerd DW?së.

Pauline Raabe, analiste në kompaninë konsulente Middle East Minds me qendër në Berlin, ka vënë re gjithashtu se kritikat ndaj SHBA?së po bëhen më të zëshme dhe më publike. "Shtetet e Gjirit janë të bashkuara, para së gjithash, në tronditjen e tyre,” i tha ajo DW?së. Arabia Saudite, në veçanti, ka "kritikuar haptazi Trump-in dhe Netanyahun”, ndërsa Katari ka reaguar më me kujdes, vëren ajo. Këtë javë, ministri i jashtëm i Omanit, Badr al?Busaidi, shkroi në një artikull opinion në të përjavshmen britanike The Economist, se "Amerika ka humbur kontrollin mbi politikën e saj të jashtme” dhe se aleatët e Uashingtonit duhet të ndihmojnë që SHBA?të të çlirohen "nga kjo ngatërresë e padëshiruar.”

Emiratet e Bashkuara Arabe janë goditur veçanërisht rëndë nga Irani.

"Pra, mund të mos ketë të bëjë vetëm me bazat amerikane,” sugjeroi

Schmidt?Feuerheerd, "por edhe me vënien nën presion të modeleve të suksesshme [ekonomike] në rajon — si Dubai, për shembull.”

Reputacioni i Dubait si një vend i sigurt biznesi dhe si një destinacion turistik është një shtyllë qendrore e planeve të Emirateve të Bashkuara Arabe për të zhvilluar sektorët jo?të?naftës në ekonominë e tyre. Dhe pikërisht për këtë arsye, Dubai është veçanërisht i ndjeshëm ndaj llojit të pasigurisë që sjell lufta, ka theksuar më parë think?tanku amerikan The Atlantic Council.

Ndryshime të mundshme në marrëdhëniet midis Gjirit dhe SHBA?së

Në planin afatgjatë, lufta me Iranin ka të ngjarë të sjellë një rishikim të marrëdhënieve të shteteve të Gjirit me SHBA?në. "Pres që pas luftës të ketë një rivlerësim,” tha Schmidt?Feuerheerd. Shtetet e Gjirit do të duhet të vendosin "nëse bazat ushtarake amerikane janë një përfitim sigurie apo një rrezik”.

However, he added that military integration with the US is so deep that any change would take years.

"Meanwhile, the decades-old agreement accepting 'cheap oil in exchange for US security guarantees' is starting to look like an outdated model," Raabe argues. However, a quick break from this agreement is unlikely, she confirms. The ties between the US and the Gulf states have been built over decades and go far beyond military cooperation.

Even before this war, there were signs that a new orientation was developing, Raabe continues. Saudi Arabia has developed partnerships with Pakistan and Turkey, while Qatar has expanded relations with European countries such as the United Kingdom and France.

"These developments were already in motion earlier," says Raabe. "But given the current situation, they have taken on even greater importance." Gulf states might look to diversify

Schmidt-Feuerheerd acknowledges, "In recent years, observers have talked about a 'hedging' strategy," he recalls, a strategy that has led to the development of closer ties with other partners, including China, Turkey, and European states.

The term "hedging" comes from economics. It's not entirely clear how it works when it comes to security and defense. It's doubtful that security in the Persian Gulf can be diversified as easily as an investment portfolio.

As Schmidt-Feuerheerd notes, “none of these new partners represent a genuine military alternative.” Moreover, the Gulf states are not always united in their political direction. “There is no guarantee that they will act as a united unit,” he said.

Before this war broke out and forced them closer together again, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for example, had been moving towards an increasingly competitive and antagonistic relationship. However, there is one thing that unites them: "Regional stability is the deciding factor for all the Gulf states," says Raabe.

All of these countries' plans to develop their economies beyond oil and usher in a more prosperous future — from Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 to the global ambitions of Dubai and Doha — rely on peace and a stable regional environment, and therefore on their ability to defend themselves./ DW