After the military operations launched by the US and Israel against Iran, tensions in the Middle East rapidly escalated, further increasing the threat of a regional war. Tehran carried out missile and drone attacks on several strategic targets in Gulf countries within the framework of “retaliatory operations”.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the country most affected by Iran's retaliatory attacks. The UAE Ministry of Defense stated that air defense systems destroyed 7 ballistic missiles and 27 drones launched from Iran in the latest wave of attacks alone.
Overall, since the beginning of the war, the country's defense systems have neutralized 285 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1567 drones. As a result of the attacks, 6 people of various nationalities were killed and 141 people were injured.
Over the past two weeks, other Arab countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, have also been targets of Iran's missile and drone attacks. All these indicators create the impression that the US can no longer fully guarantee the security of the Gulf countries. Precisely for this reason, the possibility of a change in the security strategies of the Gulf countries emerges.
In a statement to Modern.az, political commentator Rufiz Hafizoğlu stated that Iran is not currently demonstrating maximum aggression:
“Currently, Europe has left the US and Israel alone on the field in the war with Iran. The issue is that even countries that once mediated dialogue on Iran's nuclear issue are not even speaking out for dialogue amidst the ongoing processes. The reality is that Arab countries are being hit. I do not believe that Iran is currently demonstrating maximum aggression. Iran has reserved its maximum aggression for a later period. Unfortunately, we also witnessed the targeting of Azerbaijan. At the same time, 3 missiles were launched into Turkish territory. The issue is that Iranian officials openly state that they will target US political and economic interests in the region if the war continues. In fact, this statement indicates that Iran is behind the attack on Nakhchivan. This is because Nakhchivan is an extremely sensitive region. Furthermore, the US successfully carried out a mediation mission in bringing Azerbaijan and Armenia to an agreement regarding the Zangezur corridor, which will connect Nakhchivan with the main part of Azerbaijan. Therefore, according to its logic, Iran could not leave this area unattended. The reality is that these territories were also hit by Iran.”
The political commentator noted that if the US fails to achieve its goals in the war with Iran, there will be a change in the security alliance of Arab countries:
“Today, the issue of an “Arab NATO” is also being raised and discussed in the Arab media. However, the effectiveness of an “Arab NATO” is questionable. Arab countries, yes, are our friends, and their relations with Azerbaijan are developing. Nevertheless, with the exception of Egypt and Iraq, the self-defense capabilities of other Arab countries are zero. In this regard, if the US does not achieve its desired success in the war, Arab countries will undoubtedly seek a security bloc. Saudi Arabia has already initiated this. Because Saudi Arabia had formed a very serious military bloc with Pakistan. The issue of military cooperation had come to the fore. And the probability of this having a domino effect is extremely high. On the other hand, Qatar might further strengthen its security bloc with Turkey.”
