Gulf states are raising their alert levels ahead of a possible US strike on Iran after the midterm elections, warning Tehran that they could respond if their infrastructure is attacked, as diplomatic efforts remain stuck.

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are holding large-scale security drills, including at airports. Travel warnings led participants to leave a major energy conference in Abu Dhabi early. Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, which has come under fire from the Houthi terrorists in Yemen, announced that school will be held online this week. The Dutch and Belgian embassies in the region have issued warnings about a rapid security deterioration.

Several Arab states have warned Iran that they may respond individually or together if Tehran targets their infrastructure. The UAE carried out strikes on Iran during the war, while the other Gulf states took almost no part in the fighting. Gulf sources fear that Iran, which has limited ability to stop a direct US-Israeli attack, will instead try to make its neighbors pay by striking vulnerable infrastructure along the Persian Gulf. Anwar Gargash, a senior foreign policy adviser to the UAE President, said his country is hoping for a diplomatic breakthrough but is “braced for the worst.” Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned at a security conference in Abu Dhabi that another round of escalation would be even more destructive.

The US military appears to be completing its preparations, according to reports. American forces have restocked munitions in the region, strengthened air defenses and moved troops away from vulnerable bases. Another Patriot missile defense battery has been sent to Israel. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper also briefed President Trump at the White House on Thursday on military options for a strike, an unusual step that suggests a major operation may be close.

Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu said there is no scenario in which Iran quietly absorbs a short, sharp US attack, and that precise strikes on Iranian infrastructure would likely bring a similar Iranian attack on America’s partners in the Gulf. Speaking at a rally in Iowa on Sunday ahead of the midterms, President Trump said the only reason he hasn’t finished with Iran yet is that he wants to be nice, but that at some point the US will have to bring the hammer down on them.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)