Gulf Arab states that had sought to stay out of the war with Iran are reconsidering that position after coming under sustained attack from Tehran, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said- a shift that could significantly expand the coalition arrayed against Iran and open new military options for the United States.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which have spent the past week defending their own territories from Iranian missile and drone attacks, are now willing to play a more offensive role including allowing US access to military bases they had previously denied, the Pentagon chief said.

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“What Iran is doing by targeting the allied countries, that would otherwise want to stay out of this, is actually pull them into the American orbit," he said, adding, “So now you’ve got UAE and Qatar and Bahrain and Saudi and Kuwait and others saying, ‘Hey, we’re with you. We’ll shoot with you, we’ll fly with you, we’ll defend with you. We’ll allow you more basing.'"

He made similar remarks at a briefing earlier, saying Gulf states “now realize that this is something that has to be dealt with."

“On different levels, they’re reaching out to us, whether they’re going on offense, which they are, whether they’re giving us additional access basing and overflight, we’re getting," he had then said.

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Gulf governments have condemned Iran’s strikes and said they reserved the right to retaliate but none has formally announced a change in its position on the war.

On March 3, following press reports that Abu Dhabi might consider an offensive approach toward Iran, the UAE said it “has not taken any decision to alter its defensive posture in response to the repeated Iranian attacks." Qatar, whose Ras Laffan facility was struck by an Iranian drone and which declared force majeure on its LNG exports as a result, warned that a “price has to be paid" for Iran’s strikes but has maintained that it is not part of the campaign against Iran.

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Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News