AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.The targeted countries host sprawling American military bases and thousands of personnel at a time when the United States is waging war against Iran.Listen · 4:44 min A mural in Tehran, seen on Monday.Credit...Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York TimesJune 11, 2026As Iranian drones and missiles bombarded Gulf Arab countries over the past few months, killing civilians and damaging critical infrastructure, the public has responded with outrage.But few commentators or officials in these authoritarian monarchies have mentioned the awkward fact that the Iranian government has kept repeating in justifying its attacks: The targeted countries host sprawling U.S. military bases and thousands of American military personnel at a time when the United States is waging war against Iran.“There is this weird omertà almost about stating the obvious,” said David B.
Roberts, a Gulf expert at King’s College London.“They feel that they need these bases as a mechanism of fundamental defense,” he explained. “At the same time, it creates this vector of insecurity that we are seeing at its fullest extent right now. They don’t know what to do.”The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has highlighted a contradiction in the Gulf countries’ dependence on the United States.They host American military bases partly in an effort to deter Iranian attacks.
But now, Iran claims that those bases are the very reason it is attacking them, spraying thousands of missiles and drones at U.S. allies like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?
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