While Gulf leaders were holding an emergency meeting in a luxury H๏τel in Riyadh this week, bombs and missiles from Tehran were raining down right outside. Iran sent a message that was clear, even cruel. “The attack was precisely calculated to coincide with the meeting,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud bluntly told NBC News. “The goal was to intimidate those present. Iran wanted us to understand that they would not stop.”

Entering its third week of conflict, the Gulf states – which were not the instigators – are becoming the direct and relentless targets of Iranian retaliation. They are caught between two fires: the war launched by the U.S. and Israel, and the increasingly contradictory and constantly changing explanations from President Donald Trump. Pressure is mounting on them to make the most difficult decision in decades: should they join the war or not?

At a Riyadh meeting on Wednesday attended by Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Syria, Turkey, and the UAE, Minister Faisal declared that trust between Iran and its neighbors had completely broken down. “The possibility of neighboring countries entering the war cannot be ruled out,” he warned. “Iran needs to understand that Saudi Arabia and our partners possess enormous military capabilities, and we will use them if forced to.”
The situation escalated after Israel launched a major attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field – the world’s largest. Tehran immediately retaliated with firepower targeting key energy facilities of the Gulf Arab states. The fiery red fireballs and plumes of black smoke rising into the Middle Eastern sky on Thursday morning were vivid evidence of the dangerous escalation. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that Tehran had only used “a very small fraction” of its strength. “The only reason we are holding back is to respect the demand for de-escalation. If our infrastructure is attacked again, there will be NO MORE RETENTION. Any agreement to end the war must compensate for the damage to our civilian targets.”
Qatar also spoke out sharply: “If Iran continues to escalate, the consequences will be extremely serious, not only for them but for the security of the entire region. The countries and people of the Gulf will not sit idly by.”

The atmosphere in the region has completely changed. From initially wanting to mediate (like Oman), the Gulf states are now panicking and seeking self-defense. Six GCC ambᴀssadors (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman) met privately with US congressional committees to urge urgent arms sales. A US congressional aide described it as: “They are panicking and only thinking about protecting their own people.”

A senior Gulf official said: “Iran made a huge mistake by attacking both civilian and energy facilities. The mood now is pure anger. We don’t want to be drawn into a war, we don’t allow the use of our airspace to attack Iran. But Iran has turned its neighbor into an enemy.”
The UAE is suffering the most damage: more than 1,714 drones, 334 ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles from Iran have been detected. Many attacks targeted civilians, including the attack on Qatari energy facilities on Wednesday – considered an extremely serious act.
Tensions could escalate further as Houthi forces in Yemen are reportedly “on high alert” should Tehran order an attack on the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia has made it clear: these attacks are unjustifiable, and Iran must stop immediately. Prince Faisal concluded: “When the war ends, rebuilding trust with Iran will take a very long time. If Iran doesn’t stop now, there’s almost nothing left that can restore.”
The Gulf states don’t want war, but they also don’t want a devastated Iran to become hostile and retaliatory. They are at a historical crossroads: either choose to stand aside and suffer ever greater economic and security losses, or be forced to enter the war to protect their future.

And in that context, the Iranian bombs exploding outside the Riyadh meeting room were not just a warning – but a harbinger of a Middle East that could explode in an unprecedented way.