For decades, Gulf nations bet on America for security. Now, they are exposed

Mar 4, 2026 | 17:35 IST

Smoke rises from a warehouse in Sharjah, UAE following reports of Iranian strikes (Photo: AP)

Every country in the Gulf, for decades protected through its defence pacts with the US, has been hit by Iran. This has widened the conflict in way they and their protector, the US, had not imagined

For decades, the Gulf nations sold themselves as islands of calm in a turbulent neighbourhood — protected by American security guarantees, insulated from regional wars, and open for business.

This weekend, that bargain was tested.

TOI

TOI

For decades, Gulf nations bet on America for security. Now, they are exposed

Every country in the Gulf, for decades protected through its defence pacts with the US, has been hit by Iran. This has widened the conflict in way they and their protector, the US, had not imagined

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TOI

For decades, Gulf nations bet on America for security. Now, they are exposed

Every country in the Gulf, for decades protected through its defence pacts with the US, has been hit by Iran. This has widened the conflict in way they and their protector, the US, had not imagined

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