Arab Gulf states frustrated with Trump's handling of Iran war: report

Arab Gulf states are growing frustrated with President Donald Trump's handling of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran, with concerns over his inability to manage diplomacy for a peace deal, according to a Washington Post report.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are expressing their aggravation to the Trump administration and raising concern about the cost of hosting large US military installations on their territory.

"Trump started this war, and we are paying the price," one Gulf official was quoted as saying. Anger with the US has peaked since the war was imposed on Iran in February.

Fear of Israeli expansionism is driving some Gulf states to seek new arrangements. A mutual defence agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan last week was seen as "a signal to the US".

Firas Maksad of Eurasia Group said Gulf leaders feel they were "unnecessarily entangled" in an unnecessary war, with Trump's Iran policy described as "erratic" and "unpredictable". Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute said Trump's performance has "diminished trust" in the US.

Since the war began, Washington has carried out intermittent attacks on Iranian infrastructure, prompting retaliatory strikes and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

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