Muted US response to Iranian attacks deepens Gulf fears about cease-fire

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Trump administration’s attempts to shrug off exchanges of fire with Iran this week deepened concerns among Arab Gulf states that any deal to end the war will expose them to future conflict with a vengeful Iran.Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dismissed the attacks by Iran on ships in the Strait of Hormuz this week as “low harassing fire.” On Thursday, President Trump said Iran “trifled with us.”The efforts to play down the attacks came as the Trump administration tried to protect a fragile cease-fire and keep peace talks moving forward.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. expected a response by Friday to its one-page memorandum of understanding that would declare an end to the two-monthslong war, while warning the Iranians would be “blown up” if they attacked the U.S.

and its allies.But for Gulf states that host major U.S. military installations and have long counted on defense ties with America as a hedge against Iran, the attacks by Iran represented another humbling moment in a conflict that has badly damaged their security and economies.They are now worried, senior Gulf officials say, that the deal to end it will focus on Washington’s main concern—Iran’s nuclear program—while leaving intact what they see as the main threats to their security: the regime’s conventional missiles and its allied militias.“Having an angry, injured Iran that is cornered is bad for Gulf countries, because it isn’t containable in the way it was before the war.” said Dania Thafer, executive director of the Gulf International Forum, a Washington-based think tank.The war has also undermined a diplomatic process initiated by Trump to normalize Gulf relations with Israel,