Anabelle Colaco
13 Mar 2026

DUBAI, U.A.E.: Arab states in the Middle East are increasingly concerned that they are paying the economic and security costs of a war with Iran launched by the United States, according to regional sources and analysts, exposing strains in ties with the superpower that has long served as their security guarantor.

Officials and analysts say frustration is quietly growing in Middle East capitals as the region absorbs the fallout from a conflict they say they neither initiated nor supported. Iranian drone and missile strikes have hit airports, hotels, ports, and oil installations across the region, damaging infrastructure and undermining business confidence.

Three regional sources, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said resentment was building as Middle East states grapple with the consequences.

"It is not our war. We did not want this conflict, yet we are paying the price in our security and our economy," Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Center, told Reuters.

Ketbi said Middle East governments had assured Tehran that their territories and airspace would not be used by Washington during the conflict. Despite those assurances, Iran has launched waves of missile and drone attacks across the region.

Concerns Over What Comes Next

Some Middle East analysts argue that if Washington has begun the conflict, it must see it through to eliminate what they view as a persistent Iranian threat.

"If America leaves the war now without achieving victory, it will be like abandoning an injured lion," Ketbi said. "Iran will remain a threat to the region, capable of striking again. And if the regime collapses, leaving a power vacuum, neighbouring states will suffer the consequences."

The White House said U.S. and Israeli strikes had significantly weakened Iran's retaliatory capabilities.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the attacks had reduced Iran's missile launches by 90 percent, "crushing their ability to shoot these weapons or produce more." She added that President Donald Trump remained in close contact with regional partners and that Iran's attacks on neighbouring countries demonstrated why the threat had to be addressed.

There was no immediate response from Middle East governments to requests for comment.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated on the first day of the conflict. Tehran responded with attacks on Israel and the Middle Eastern states hosting U.S. military bases, disrupting oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route that carries about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.

The conflict has also disrupted regional travel and tourism. Airspace closures have forced airlines to cancel roughly 40,000 flights, the largest disruption to global air travel since the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism across the Middle East has also been hit, threatening the region's reputation as a safe destination for international visitors. The ccupancy of hotels such as the Hilton, Sofitel, and Sheraton on the popular Jumeirah Beach have fallen from near 100 percent occupancy on the day before the U.S.-Israeli attacks launched, to below 20 percent.

Middle East Reassesses Security Ties

Despite the turmoil, Middle East governments have sought to project stability. United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said late last week that the country was in a time of war but remained secure, adding that the UAE was "no easy prey."

Behind the scenes, analysts say the conflict is prompting Gulf states to reconsider their reliance on Washington for security.

For decades, relations between the United States and Middle East states were built on an implicit exchange: energy and investment from the Middle East in return for American security protection, said Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics.

The war has shaken that understanding, he said, prompting Middle East states to diversify their diplomatic and security partnerships because they realize "they cannot really rely on the United States to protect their energy, oil, gas, their people and their sovereignty."

Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Saudi-based Middle East Research Center, said the conflict highlighted the risks of relying solely on outside security guarantees.

He said Washington had failed to ensure adequate protection for its allies or safeguard oil and gas flows during wartime, calling the economic damage to Middle East states "horrendous."

Prominent Emirati businessman Khalaf Al Habtoor also questioned the rationale behind the U.S.-Israeli strikes.

"If the strikes were aimed at containing Iran, did they take into account the regional consequences -- or was the cost of dragging the Middle East into a conflict it was not party to simply ignored?" asked Al Habtoor, founder of the Al Habtoor Group.

Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned they would block oil shipments if attacks continued, declaring they would not allow "one litre of oil" to leave the Middle East.