AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): CNN, in a report examining the consequences of the Trump administration's policies toward Iran, citing the Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute, wrote that Arab countries of the Persian Gulf have serious doubts about the U.S. military strategy toward Iran and believe that the continuation of Washington's confrontational approach will not only fail to change the course of events but will increasingly expose these countries to security and economic consequences.
This expert emphasized that Saudi Arabia does not trust the effectiveness of the U.S. military strategy, and that escalating tensions will only lead to Iran's reciprocal reactions and increased costs for the region's countries.
In this report, Kevin Donegan, a former commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, stated in an interview with CNN that the Persian Gulf countries are usually the first to bear the cost of any U.S. attack on Iran, because of the possibility of Tehran's reciprocal response against these countries' infrastructure and interests.
He also claimed that Iran has a significant capability in carrying out missile attacks, and this has caused particular concern among regional countries about the security of their energy infrastructure.
The report also referred to diplomatic efforts to prevent the escalation of the crisis, adding that some regional countries, including Oman and Pakistan, are conveying messages between the parties.
According to Donegan, Saudi Arabia from the beginning has not sought to escalate the conflict and still prefers political and diplomatic paths over the military option.
In another part of its report, CNN, citing Axios, claimed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a phone call with Donald Trump, expressed concern about possible U.S. government plans for new large-scale attacks on Iran and called for de-escalation and avoidance of any military action.
According to this report, informed sources say that Saudi officials are extremely concerned about the security consequences of such an action for the region.
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