Why the Gulf Monarchies Will Not Turn Away from the United States Despite the Iran War

Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik · Aug 31, 2026

The signing on 7 August of the so-called Mecca Pact by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan again raises the question of whether the Gulf monarchies might seek to reduce their security dependence on the United States. The Gulf monarchies’ experience of the Iran war makes such a realignment appear plausible. Despite their decades-long partnership with Washington, they became targets of Iranian drone and missile attacks that caused considerable damage to the region’s energy infrastructure and severely disrupted energy exports, as the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed. The Trump…