Gulf nations were on high alert this weekend bracing for increased military action amid fresh threats from President Donald Trump, a senior Gulf government official and a foreign diplomat based in the Gulf region told MS NOW.
One of the two officials — both of whom asked not to be identified because of the sensitivities of the widening conflict — said Gulf states had been briefed on potential U.S.-Israeli attacks to energy infrastructure in Iran. The officials warned of “significant disruptions” across the region.
Their statements came as The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported Friday that President Donald Trump had ordered the Pentagon to launch fresh strikes on Iran as soon as this weekend.
Trump harshly criticized Iranian negotiators during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday and said the U.S. would be “hitting them very hard” in the coming weeks.
“You know, at some point they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore,’” he said.
He lamented the amount of time spent discussing Iran’s nuclear program, and said he was “angry” that Iranian officials would later declare publicly that the two sides did not discuss the country’s nuclear program.
“I’m losing faith in them because they do lie,” Trump said. His comments came as the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, well over a month since the U.S. and Iran remotely signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending hostilities.
The officials in the Gulf region told MS NOW on Saturday that if fresh attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure were to occur, Iran is expected to retaliate by targeting energy sites in U.S.-allied Gulf states.
U.S. embassies in Jordan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates issued security alerts on Saturday and warned American citizens to “consider departing, or be prepared to depart” those countries if hostilities escalate.
Meanwhile, Israel carried out lethal strikes in Gaza on Saturday despite Trump announcing on Thursday that the Palestinian militant group Hamas had agreed to disarm during negotiations with the president’s Board of Peace.
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