Will the Gulf States Join the War?

Will the Gulf States Join the War?

From Foreign Policy Live by Foreign Policy

March 5, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the potential responses of Gulf States to Iranian attacks amid escalating U.S.-Israel military actions.

As the United States and Israel attack military facilities across Iran, Tehran has been retaliating. But it has attacked Gulf countries more than it has targeted Israel. Why? And how will the likes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates respond? Will it shift their geopolitical alignment away from the United States? Regional experts Mina al-Oraibi, the editor in chief of the National, and Firas Maksad, a managing director at the Eurasia Group, join FP Live to share their perspectives. Khalid al-Jaber and Omar H. Rahman: Security Alliances With the U.S. Have Made Gulf States More Vulnerable David Petraeus and Clara Kaluderovic: The Drone Attrition Trap Macdonald Amoah, Morgan D. Bazilian, and Jahara Matisek: The First 36 Hours of War Consumed Over 3,000 U.S.-Israeli Munitions Firas Maksad: The Middle East Has Two New Rival Teams Esfandyar Batmanghelidj: The Iran War Is Jeopardizing the Entire Global Economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Guests: Mina al-Oraibi, Firas Maksad

Topics covered

  • Gulf States
  • Iran
  • Geopolitical Alignment
  • U.S. Foreign Policy
  • Regional Security
  • Military Conflict

Keywords

  • Gulf States
  • Iran
  • U.S. Foreign Policy
  • Geopolitical Alignment
  • Military Conflict
  • Regional Security

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National, Eurasia Group

Places: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

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