Gulf states are watching with growing concern the new escalation of the conflict between Iran and the United States.
The system of strikes and counterstrikes is firmly entrenched, and an additional complication is growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen, who are determined to break the blockade against them.
The diplomatic path seems to be dying at the moment. The influx of Pakistani and Qatari delegations visiting Iran in an attempt to maintain the ceasefire has given way to pessimism among regional diplomats. Qatar itself has been hit twice by the recent outbreak.
Iranian drones also attacked Oman days after talks between the two states on a scheme to manage the strait. And the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) attacked ships passing near the coast of Oman. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has virtually ceased.
Iran has repeatedly warned it is ready to step up attacks on neighbors that host US military installations, and the semi-official Fars newspaper has published a list of five ports in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates that it says could become targets if Iranian infrastructure is attacked.
The US has targeted tunnels, roads, bridges and railways in recent days, according to Iranian state media, fueling fears that the conflict could spiral.
“Every escalation by the US is met by an escalation by Iran, as each side seeks to establish new thresholds of deterrence with each exchange,” said Israeli analyst Danny Citrinovich.
Rather than forcing Iran back to the negotiating table, “an equally likely outcome is a conflict that goes beyond the intentions of either side, escalating into a much broader regional war with diminishing opportunities to restore diplomacy,” Citrinovich wrote on Saturday.