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The Iran War Has Exposed the Gulf's Bet on U.S. Protection

Voices across the Gulf express fear and anguish over a war that has turned supposed U.S. security guarantees into liabilities.

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The Conversation U.S.
Mar 09, 2026
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A tall smoke plume billows following an explosion from an Iranian strike on an industrial zone in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026. (Photo by Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images)

By Mira Al Hussein

Mira Al Hussein is a research fellow at the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World at the University of Edinburgh.

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