Gulf States Pressed Trump to Hold Off on Iran Strikes and Pursue Talks - WSJ
▻https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/gulf-states-pressed-trump-to-hold-off-on-iran-strikes-and-pursue-talks-03bcdb52
While Israel had the upper hand in terms of influencing Trump to launch the war on Feb. 28 despite Gulf warnings, the situation has now flipped, said Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli military intelligence official and now senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
Gulf countries are now holding more sway with the president, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pull is eroding, he said.
“They basically prefer stability over everything else,” Citrinowicz said, referring to Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“Everyone knows what will happen if [Iranian] infrastructure will be attacked—they will attack infrastructure in the Gulf states,” Citrinowicz said.
“They created the understanding especially around the Gulf states that there is a huge price to pay if something like that could happen.”
▻https://archive.ph/2026.08.02-172812/https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/gulf-states-pressed-trump-to-hold-off-on-iran-strikes-and-pursue-talks-03bcd