Nations like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain are reconsidering the value of hosting US military bases, driven by a perceived diminishing trust in Washington’s effectiveness
Frustration with Washington is growing among US allies in the Persian Gulf, with governments increasingly concerned that President Donald Trump is struggling to manage the diplomacy needed to end the conflict with Iran, officials say. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are increasingly united in their frustration with the Trump administration, according to three Gulf officials and a former US diplomat who spoke to The Washington Post.
Some governments have begun discussing whether it remains useful to host large US military installations, although analysts say the changes are unlikely to significantly reshape the region in the short term.
One Gulf official said the anger towards Washington was at its highest level since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February. “Trump started this war,” the official said, “and we are paying the price.”
The Gulf states remain heavily dependent on the US for security and military equipment. Qatar and Bahrain host major US military bases. But the conflict has prompted some countries to consider whether they should diversify their security partnerships.
A mutual defence agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan last week was “a signal to the US,” a senior European official told The Post.
The agreement showed that the three powerful Sunni Muslim states “are trying to diversify their security and defense partnerships,” the official said. “In their mind, the US is not enough.”
However, a White House official said Trump “has extraordinary relationships with all of our Gulf partners”. “The United States has been in regular contact with all of our regional allies since before Operation Epic Fury,” the official said. “Iran is more isolated than ever before as a result of its terrorist actions.”
‘Erratic’ and ‘Unpredictable’
“There has been frustration from the get-go,” said Firas Maksad, director for the Middle East and North Africa practice at the Eurasia Group. US allies in the Gulf, he said, felt they had been “unnecessarily entangled” in a war that Trump was now struggling to resolve.
Maksad, who has extensive contacts with Gulf leaders, said the president’s Iran policy was often described in the region as “erratic” and “unpredictable”.
Anna Jacobs, a fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said there had been “diminished trust” in the US since the war began. US allies believe Washington’s “conduct in the region is making them less safe, not more safe,” she said.
Even before the Iran war, US forces in the region were not “enthusiastically” welcomed, the diplomat said. “It was more something that was a necessary evil,” the diplomat said. “Now, the necessity of it is being put in question.”
Saudi Arabia Under Pressure
Saudi Arabia has faced particular pressure in recent weeks. As well as attacks by Iran and Iran-backed groups in Iraq, the kingdom has been targeted by Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen.
The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi energy infrastructure and are attempting to shut down the Bab al-Mandab strait at the entrance to the Red Sea.
Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in the early stages of the war, Saudi Arabia has relied on its Red Sea ports to export oil. Gulf attitudes towards the conflict have also shifted.
Oman opposed the war from the beginning, while Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain had at times supported it. Emirati forces have carried out “numerous” strikes against targets in Iran in recent months, according to the Western diplomat. Saudi forces have also attacked Iranian-backed groups operating from Iraq.
“At the beginning of the war, they were — I don’t want to say, supportive — but honestly, they were not totally against the war,” the senior European official said.
Leaders in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh had believed that a quick and decisive victory could ultimately benefit them, the official said.
That view began to change before the first round of US-Iran talks in April, when it became clear that Iran’s government was unlikely to collapse and that the Strait of Hormuz would not be reopened.
Concerns Over Trump’s Strategy
Bader Al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University and a fellow of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told The Post that Trump’s inconsistency had alarmed Gulf governments.
“Even before all this back and forth with Trump, there was no clear strategy,” he said.
Al-Saif pointed to a Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran in June. “The MOU was a joke,” he said, arguing that it failed to address Gulf states’ main concerns, including Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and its support for proxy forces. “Those terms were not terms of our liking,” he said, “and that’s why it died out sooner than later.”
Growing Economic Concerns
Douglas Silliman, who served as US ambassador to Kuwait and Iraq under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, said he had heard frustration with Washington during a recent visit to the region.
But he said he was also hearing increasing anger towards Tehran over its continuing attacks on infrastructure and its refusal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
