‘Return to your senses’: Gulf states ramp up criticism of Iran
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Smoke rising from the Jebel Ali port in Dubai after it was struck by debris from an intercepted Iranian missile on March 1.
PHOTO: EPA
Follow our live coverage here.
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on March 1 stepped up their criticism of Iran’s strikes across the Gulf
“Return to your senses, to your surroundings, and deal with your neighbours with reason and responsibility before the circle of isolation and escalation widens,” Mr Anwar Gargash, a senior foreign policy adviser to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed said on X.
“Your war is not with your neighbours, and through this escalation, you confirm the narrative of those who see Iran as the region’s primary source of danger,” Mr Gargash said.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said Iran’s attacks – a response to US-Israeli strikes that started on Feb 28 – needed a “firm” international response.
Qatar described an Iranian attack on the port of Duqm in Oman as “cowardly”.
The statements on March 1 signal Iran’s growing isolation as it lashes out against the American and Israeli bombardment by striking targets in Israel and neighbouring Arab states.
The UAE’s main cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have faced hundreds of missiles and drone attacks from Iran since early on Feb 28.
Most have been intercepted, and there are few reports of casualties. But they are causing panic among residents and pose a huge threat to the UAE’s economy and status as a stable financial, logistics and tourism hub.
There was little sign of a let-up from either Iran or the US and Israel on March 1.
After Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was confirmed dead
US President Donald Trump said “heavy and pinpoint bombing” will continue “uninterrupted throughout the week or as long as necessary”.
Sunni Arab states in the Gulf have long had tense relations with Iran, a Shi’ite-majority country. Still, in recent years, the likes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE had sought to improve relations and were keen for Iran to agree to a diplomatic deal with the US to avert the conflict now raging. BLOOMBERG
