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.
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Inzamam Rashid is a MS NOW contributor and Monocle’s Gulf Correspondent based in Dubai. He has previously reported for Sky News and the BBC
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
