Trump’s Message on Iran: The Gulf Wants No War, but the Status Quo Is Unsustainable One thing stands out from Trump’s latest post: Gulf states clearly oppose another military confrontation with Iran. I suspect this was the central message conveyed during the meeting itself, as well as in conversations between senior U.S. officials and their Gulf counterparts. There is a growing and welcome recognition across the Gulf that another war would not serve the interests of these countries. Quite the opposite. They would be among the first to pay the price, particularly if Iran retaliated against energy infrastructure, shipping routes, and other strategic assets. But the real question is whether the meeting produced a new diplomatic proposal, and more importantly, whether Washington is showing any genuine flexibility. Because one thing should be clear: the current status quo cannot last. Iran is unlikely to accept an indefinite blockade. Tehran could respond by targeting additional tankers and raising the economic and military costs of maintaining it. At the same time, once the new Congress takes office, the administration could face growing pressure to reconsider a blockade that has failed to produce Iranian capitulation while imposing significant costs on the global economy. And there is a fundamental problem with Washington's approach: a blockade is a means of applying pressure, not an end in itself. If Tehran refuses to surrender, what exactly is the next step? To conclude, Gulf states want to avoid escalation, and Trump increasingly appears inclined in the same direction. But preferences are not policy, and diplomatic statements are not a diplomatic breakthrough. Unless Washington and Tehran find a formula that allows both sides to claim some degree of success, the situation will remain dangerously unstable. The absence of an immediate war should not be mistaken for de-escalation. As long as the blockade remains in place without a credible diplomatic exit, the risk of another military confrontation will remain real. #Iran #IranWar Retweeted by @staunovo from @citrinowicz