Wall Street Journal: Arab countries inform Washington of their refusal to use their territories or airspace to attack Iran
Jordan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have all told the US administration that they don’t want the US or Israel to use their military infrastructure or airspace for any offensive operations against Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing Arab officials, that Tehran has threatened through secret diplomatic channels that oil-rich Gulf states and other US allies in the Middle East would be targeted if their territory or airspace were used to attack Iran.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s sources, Israel threatened Tehran with severe retaliation after Iran launched about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this month, prompting some Israeli officials to call for devastating retaliatory strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities or oil infrastructure.
Against this backdrop, Iran warned that it will respond with devastating strikes on Israeli civilian infrastructure, and will take revenge on any Arab country that facilitates the attack on its territory.
The Wall Street Journal pointed out that among the countries that received the warning are Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and other countries in which the US military is deployed.
According to the officials, “these countries have informed the Biden administration that they don’t want the United States or Israel to use their military infrastructure or airspace in any offensive operations against Iran”.
According to the sources, “there is a risk of strikes on the oil infrastructure of the Gulf states, as well as on US military installations and personnel in the region”.
Earlier on Thursday, three US and Israeli officials said that US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were close to an understanding on the scope of Israel’s response to Iran.
Officials told Axios that the Biden administration is receptive to the idea that Israel will soon launch a major attack on Iran, but it fears that strikes on specific targets could significantly escalate the regional war.
A senior Israeli official said the current plans were still more aggressive than the White House would like.
Israel’s security cabinet convened Thursday evening to receive a briefing on plans to attack Iran and understandings with the Biden administration, Israeli officials said.
The security cabinet is likely to authorize Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant to determine the timing of the expected attack.
Working-level consultations between the United States and Israel on responding to Iran continued on Thursday and will continue in the coming days, US and Israeli officials said.
Galant is likely to travel to Washington early next week to continue discussions with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
