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Gulf monarchies allied with the United States are privately lobbying the White House to intensify and prolong its military campaign against Iran, even as Tehran's foreign minister is calling on Saudi Arabia to break with Washington and expel American forces from the region, according to U.S., Gulf and Israeli officials speaking to AP.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have conveyed in private conversations that they do not want military operations to end until there are significant changes in Iranian leadership or a dramatic shift in Iranian behavior, officials said. Some regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran's clerical rule once and for all.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, has told White House officials that further degrading Iran's military capabilities and clerical leadership serves the long-term interests of the Gulf region and beyond.
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The UAE has gone the furthest among Gulf states, actively pressing Trump to order a ground invasion of Iran, a significant escalation that would mark a dramatic expansion of the conflict. The push reflects Abu Dhabi's longstanding hawkish posture toward Tehran and its willingness to see the Islamic Republic's governing structure fundamentally dismantled.
Against that backdrop, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has taken his country's case directly to Riyadh, urging Saudi Arabia to distance itself from Washington and demand the removal of U.S. forces stationed on Gulf soil. The appeal is a bid by Tehran to drive a wedge between the United States and its Gulf partners at a moment when those partners are, by most accounts, pushing in the opposite direction.
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