DUBAI (Dispatches) – The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council was founded in 1981 to project unity against external threats. Today, it lies in tatters—a victim of its own catastrophic decision to host American military bases that have made the region a target rather than a sanctuary in the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran.
As the U.S. and Israel continue their terrorist campaign against Iran, the Persian Gulf monarchies find themselves caught in the crossfire—not because Iran seeks to target them, but because their territories host American military installations that serve as launching pads for strikes on Iran. 
Iranian missiles and drones have struck American assets in Bahrain, Kuwait, and other GCC states, killing at least 28 people and devastating military facilities. The Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of global oil flows, has been effectively closed. Yet the GCC cannot agree on a response.
“The GCC is nonfunctional,” one Arab diplomat told Politico. “They’re working together to visit Congress and the State Department, to coordinate their messages,” said an Iraqi official. “But they are not on the same page.”
For decades, Persian Gulf capitals organized their security around one premise: American bases would deter adversaries. That premise has collapsed spectacularly. 
U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia—once symbols of protection—have become strategic magnets for Iranian retaliation in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. 
As Dr. Betul Dogan Akkas, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Ankara University and Deputy Director of the university’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies, observed: “What had been considered the most fundamental measure for enhancing Persian Gulf security—hosting U.S. military bases—paradoxically became a source of deeper insecurity.” 
The message from Tehran is unequivocal: hosting American bases that facilitate strikes on Iran makes you a target. Iran has repeatedly warned that any country hosting U.S. military installations “would not be spared”. 
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has made clear that American bases in the region remain viable targets, and Iran’s Parliament has declared that any country hosting U.S. bases is a legitimate target for retaliation.
Despite Persian Gulf governments publicly stating their territories would not be used for offensive operations, American and Israeli forces have launched strikes from and through these bases.
“What had been considered the most fundamental measure for enhancing Persian Gulf security—hosting U.S. military bases—paradoxically became a source of deeper insecurity,” wrote Ankara University’s assistant professor.
The message from Tehran is clear: hosting American bases that facilitate strikes on Iran makes you a target. Washington has offered no meaningful reassurance. When Iranian missiles struck Emirati targets in May—targeting American assets—the U.S. suspended naval operations in the Strait and pivoted to negotiations, leaving Persian Gulf leaders feeling abandoned.
The GCC’s divisions run deep. The UAE has reportedly doubled down on defense ties with Israel, receiving Iron Dome systems and coordinating strikes. Oman and Qatar maintain mediation channels with Tehran. Saudi Arabia sits somewhere in the middle. The UAE’s withdrawal from OPEC in April angered Riyadh, with one diplomat warning “the Persian Gulf will no longer be the same as it was before.”
The Persian Gulf states’ embrace of the Abraham Accords and deepening security ties with Israel have only intensified the conflict. This has made the Persian Gulf monarchies complicit in U.S.-Israeli aggression. 
Meanwhile, Washington’s commitment to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge means Persian Gulf states receive advanced equipment—but not the most capable systems available.
What the Persian Gulf monarchies have failed to grasp is that a genuine partnership with Iran—built on good neighborliness and mutual
 respect—would have offered far greater security than American bases ever could. Instead, they chose alignment with Washington and Tel Aviv, inviting precisely the instability they sought to avoid.
As one retired Navy vice admiral noted, Persian Gulf states need to “not leave them holding the bag.” But with the GCC in disarray, American bombs falling on Iran, and Israeli influence deepening, the bag grows heavier by the day. The Peresian Gulf states are not securing their future—they are mortgaging it to powers that will not hesitate to sacrifice them when interests diverge.