Allies in Middle East stand with U.S.

As missiles, aircraft and drones streak across the Middle East and embassies are attacked and hotels and apartments are set ablaze, the United States’ allies are sticking by the White House. For now.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes, killing Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top lieutenants, Iran has retaliated, hitting neighboring Gulf states that are home to U.S. military bases and targeted sites critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas.

Some nations have already been forced to take action, including Qatar, which, a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday, downed Iranian jets after they entered the country’s airspace and were warned to leave as they headed toward the capital, Doha, according to Reuters. Qatar is home to Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East.

Iran’s decision to retaliate across the Middle East has amounted to a strategic mistake, isolating Tehran and angering neighbors, according to three high-ranking Arab diplomats with direct knowledge of the state of play and public statements from around the region. Yet as the war widens in the region with President Donald Trump signaling no clear end in sight, questions grow about how much Gulf allies can take.

“We’re put in this situation; we have to deal with it,” a veteran Arab diplomat told NBC News. “The Gulf countries have no choice — it was a huge mistake for Iran to strike the Arab neighbors. People are furious. They should not have attacked our bases.”

Other American allies in the region have also been attacked, including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, all of which joined Qatar condemning “Iran’s indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks against sovereign territories across the region” in a joint statement issued Sunday.

Qatar repeated its call for “an immediate cessation of all escalatory actions, a return to the negotiating table and efforts to contain the crisis in a way that preserves the security of the region, safeguards the interests of its peoples, and prevents a slide into wider confrontations.”

In Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council started a joint command center in Riyadh and began coordinating with U.S. Central Command over incoming strikes, another Arab diplomat said. But there is widespread anger over the attacks by Iran, the diplomat said.

“It was unprovoked and unwarranted,” one of the diplomats said. “We had been very clear and had been in communication with them that we would not let the U.S. or Israel use our airspace. We had told them that an attack on anyone in our territory is wrong — it’s criminal.”

The CIA headquarters in Riyadh, on the U.S. Embassy compound, was hit by a suspected Iranian drone Tuesday, though no casualties were reported, according to a Gulf official. The attack follows an earlier attack on the embassy by two drones.

In the early hours of the U.S. operation, there were concerns that Iran’s retaliatory strikes had come much more quickly and widely than expected. But a former administration official said that Iran’s strikes were within the realm of what was expected and that Gulf allies have been largely effective at intercepting Iran’s missiles and drones. Israel achieved air supremacy within the first 48 hours, which helped the U.S. move in quickly afterward.

Kuwait’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a separate statement that Kuwait affirmed its right to defend itself under Article 51 of the United Nations charter, which gives countries the right to “self-defense” in response to attacks.

The U.S. has a long-standing defense relationship with Kuwait, and thousands of American soldiers are stationed there. U.S. Central Command said six American service members were killed in an Iranian strike against a military facility Sunday.

Iran itself cited Article 51 in a statement from its Foreign Affairs Ministry, shortly after the first round of attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Saturday. Iran said responding to the aggression was a “legal and legitimate right.” It added that it would use all of its “might and resources to confront this criminal aggression and repel the enemy’s evil act.”

One of the diplomats said that the region was resolved and that it would back the U.S., drawn together over Iran. “We have no choice. We have to go along with whatever the U.S. does,” the diplomat said.

The United Arab Emirates and Jordan, both of which have been rocked by explosions and fires in recent days, expressed concern about the U.S. attacks but denounced Iran’s retaliation.

After it received a call from Trump on Monday, Jordan’s government said on X that King Abdullah II had emphasized the “need to work towards achieving comprehensive and sustainable calm that contributes to restoring stability and achieving peace in the region.”

His message echoed the UAE’s statement Saturday, which called “for restraint and a recourse to diplomatic solutions and serious dialogue, emphasizing that this remains the most effective path to overcoming the current crisis and safeguarding regional security and stability.”