CAIRO (AP) — Persian Gulf allies are expressing growing frustration with the Trump administration over what they describe as inadequate warning before U.S.-Israeli military actions that sparked a wave of Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region.
Sources from two Gulf nations revealed their governments’ disappointment with how Washington has managed the conflict, especially regarding last Saturday’s initial strike against Iran. These countries received no advance warning of the joint U.S.-Israeli operation and had previously cautioned that such actions would bring catastrophic regional consequences.
According to one official, Gulf states are increasingly frustrated and angry that American military forces have provided insufficient protection for their territories. The source indicated regional leaders believe U.S. operations prioritize defending Israel and American personnel while leaving Gulf countries to fend for themselves, noting that his nation’s missile interceptor supplies are “rapidly depleting.”
The Gulf officials requested anonymity due to the sensitive diplomatic nature of their statements.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain’s governments declined to provide comment when contacted.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly responded: “Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% because Operation Epic Fury is crushing their ability to shoot these weapons or produce more. President Trump is in close contact with all of our regional partners, and the terrorist Iranian regime’s attacks on its neighbors prove how imperative it was that President Trump eliminate this threat to our country and our allies.”
Pentagon officials did not provide a response.
While Gulf Arab governments have maintained restrained official positions, prominent figures with government connections have publicly criticized U.S. actions, suggesting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled President Donald Trump into an unnecessary conflict.
“This is Netanyahu’s war,” former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal stated during a CNN interview Wednesday. “He somehow convinced the president (Trump) to support his views.”
During private congressional briefings this week, Pentagon leadership acknowledged difficulties in stopping Iranian drone swarms, leaving some American assets in the Gulf region exposed to attack.
Iran views Gulf countries as strategic targets within easy reach of short-range missiles, with numerous high-value objectives including U.S. military personnel, prominent commercial and tourist sites, and energy infrastructure that affects global oil supplies.
Since hostilities began, Iran has launched no fewer than 380 missiles and more than 1,480 drones against five Arab Gulf states, based on official reports compiled by AP. Local authorities report at least 13 fatalities in those nations.
Six American soldiers died Sunday in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations facility at a civilian port, located more than 10 miles from the primary Army installation. A family member of one deceased soldier, who served with an Iowa-based supply and logistics unit, described the operations center as a shipping container-style structure without defensive measures.
During Tuesday’s congressional briefings, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine informed lawmakers that U.S. forces cannot intercept most incoming unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly Shahed drones, according to three briefing attendees.
When pressed by legislators about apparent lack of preparation for Iranian drone swarms targeting regional U.S. assets, Caine and Hegseth provided no specific explanations, one attendee reported.
A U.S. official familiar with Gulf region security arrangements explained that America lacks comprehensive capabilities throughout the area to effectively counter waves of one-way attack drones targeting locations beyond traditional military installations in Iraq and Syria.
Recent drone strikes caused limited fire damage at the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while another attack sparked a small blaze near the American consulate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. and Middle Eastern partners sought assistance Thursday from Ukraine, which has developed expertise countering Iranian Shahed drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. When asked about Zelenskyy’s remarks, Trump told Reuters Thursday, “Certainly, I’ll take, you know, any assistance from any country.”
Kuwait-based Chatham House analyst Bader Mousa Al-Saif suggested the U.S. underestimated risks to Gulf Arab partners, assuming Iranian retaliation would primarily target American forces and Israel.
“I don’t think they saw that there would be as much exposure to the Gulf,” he explained, calling the absence of Gulf protection plans evidence of “U.S. short-sightedness.”
Gulf nation frustration stems partly from Israel’s superior success rate in intercepting drones and missiles compared to their own defensive capabilities, according to a diplomatic source unauthorized to speak publicly.
While Gulf air defense systems lack Israel’s sophistication, U.S. officials reportedly remain puzzled by Gulf countries’ reluctance to launch counter-strikes against Iranian targets.
Elliott Abrams, who handled Iran and Venezuela policy during Trump’s first presidency, noted that American security officials and Gulf allies understood Iran’s strike capabilities.
“And the neighbors knew it and were afraid of it. But it was never clear that Iran would actually do it, because they have a lot to lose,” Abrams explained. “These attacks will leave long-term enmity, and if they keep up, the Gulf Arabs may start attacking Iran.”
Former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney observed that while Gulf states want to see Iran weakened, they harbor serious concerns about the ongoing conflict’s economic damage, regional instability, and uncertain duration.
Ratney, currently a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Middle East program, stated: “What comes next? The countries of the Gulf will have to bear the brunt of whatever that is.”
