The Gulf states tried to sit out the US-led campaign against Iran by refusing to allow American forces to use their bases. Iran responded by hammering their civilian infrastructure. Gen. David Petraeus, former CIA director, said the result has been a dramatic reversal - with Gulf countries now moving toward active support and even hinting at joining offensive operations.
The Gulf states initially "did not allow us to use their bases because they wanted to sit this one out, they did not want to be seen as overtly supporting the US and Israel," Petraeus told CSIS in remarks covered by "Hvylya". That calculation collapsed once Iranian strikes targeted Gulf infrastructure directly.
The shift has gone beyond passive cooperation. Petraeus said some Gulf states are "starting to hint that they will join in the offensive operations." He singled out the United Arab Emirates as potentially willing to freeze Iranian reserves held in Dubai - a financial strike that would complement the military campaign.
European allies also moved at different speeds. Petraeus said his understanding from "a very highly placed member of the British government" is that London authorized the use of Diego Garcia and another UK base "much earlier than has been publicly announced." France opened its regional bases after Iran struck a French naval facility. Germany and the NATO Secretary General have both been "quite forward-leaning."
Petraeus defended the secrecy that preceded the strikes, noting that American companies and even NATO allies operating in the region were not given advance warning. He said there was "exquisite intelligence" underpinning the initial operation, and any early notification - even to embassies - "would have rippled out, it would have eventually leaked, and it might have prevented acting on this precise intelligence." The element of surprise, he said, was both important and considerable - as evidenced by the killing of the Supreme Leader in the opening salvo.
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