Gulf Arab states lobbying Trump to invade Iran – report

The United Arab Emirates is reportedly pushing President Trump to order an invasion of Iran, with Kuwait and Bahrain also backing a ground operation.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Gulf Arab states are pressing the Trump administration to ramp up military pressure on the Iranian regime, with several of the oil-rich nations privately lobbying the president to deploy ground forces to the Islamic Republic, The Associated Press reported Tuesday morning.

American, Israeli, and Gulf Arab officials told the AP that a coalition of Gulf Cooperation Council states, led by Saudi Arabia, is urging President Donald Trump to extend the war against Iran, arguing that after just over a month of fighting, Tehran has not yet been sufficiently weakened and warning that the regime still poses a threat to the region.

Saudi, Emirati, Kuwaiti, and Bahraini officials have all conveyed to the White House the message that they believe the current campaign should continue until Iran’s leadership is changed, or Tehran radically alters its behavior.

Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, reportedly told White House officials it is crucial that Iran’s military power be further reduced.

The Saudis have argued that a peace deal with Iran can only be reached once the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities – in particular its ballistic missile program – have been degraded and the regime forced to agree to surrender its enriched uranium stockpile.

Some Gulf Arab states have taken an even more hawkish position, officials told the AP.

The United Arab Emirates is stridently pushing for the United States to invade Iran, with Bahrain and Kuwait also backing a ground operation.

Since the beginning of the war on February 28, the UAE has been targeted by over 2,300 Iranian missiles and suicide drones.

“An Iranian regime that launches ballistic missiles at homes, weaponizes global trade and supports proxies is no longer an acceptable feature of the regional landscape,” Noura Al Kaabi, Emirati minister of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote in an op-ed published by the semi-official outlet The National.

“We want a guarantee that this will never happen again.”