As Trump’s Midterm Deadline Looms, Gulf Countries Brace for Possible Renewal of Iran War

In the marble-floored atria of a five-star hotel in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, military officers in full regalia mingled with ambassadors and political analysts last weekend, swapping business cards and chatting over plates of tiramisù infused with Arabic coffee. The smiles and the warm handshakes at the gathering — the Manama Dialogue, an annual security conference — belied the grim topic underpinning much of the conversation. The possibility that the United States might, within days, reignite its war with Iran, prompting a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones on the very city where they were meeting, hung over the event like a dark cloud.

As President Trump weighs a renewed attack on Iran sometime after the midterm elections on Tuesday, Gulf Arab officials fear that their countries — which host American military bases, Western companies and valuable oil and gas facilities — will be the hardest hit, as they were after the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February. They also fear that the fighting will be worse this time around. The Iranian and American positions on a potential deal to stave off a crisis are still “far apart,” Anwar Gargash, a senior official from the United Arab Emirates, told the conference audience.

“If these positions are not bridged, then we have to worry about the worst.” The U.S. military carried out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, according to U.S. officials. Still, Mr. Trump told Fox News on the same day that “there’s a very good chance we make a deal.” American and Israeli military officials have drawn up an expanded list of targets to strike, including energy infrastructure and other sites vital to the Iranian economy.

Iran has warned that it would retaliate fiercely, targeting critical infrastructure and underwater communications cables in the region. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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