Will this be the week that Arabs shed restraint to join the Iran war?
The Straits Times
There are indications that the Arab stance against the Islamic republic is hardening. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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HOUSTON – The Gulf Arab nations bombarded by Iran face a big choice this week: Should they take the fight to the theocratic state?
As the clock ticks down to US President Donald Trump’s Monday night ultimatum – March 24, 7.44am, Singapore time – for Teheran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face a major escalation, some Gulf Arab states could be moved to launch so‑called “defensive attacks” on Iran.
Mr Trump has promised the “obliteration” of Iran’s power plants, while Iran has threatened to “irreversibly” destroy key infrastructure across the Middle East.
Iran seems to have calculated that strikes on the Gulf nations would lead them to press Mr Trump for a ceasefire. But they could equally move things in the opposite direction.
So far, the Gulf states have refrained from launching attacks on Iran even as they intercepted over 1,500 Iranian missiles and drones aimed directly at their airports, ports, hotels, oil facilities and desalination infrastructure.
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