Although the leaders of the Gulf countries strongly condemned Iran's attacks on their territory, they have yet to make a direct military response. Hersham Salam, a senior research scholar at Stanford University's Center for Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law, pointed out that although the cost of war continues to rise, “further escalation with Iran will bring costs that these countries are unwilling to bear.” The Gulf countries base their domestic and international legitimacy largely on ambitious development visions, which include economic growth, investment, tourism, infrastructure development, and deeper integration into the global market. The outbreak of a full-scale conflict with Iran will directly jeopardize their modernization projects, which they have invested heavily in politically and financially, and even amount to “economic suicide.” Meanwhile, Ian Palmett, an expert on Middle East issues and former Australian ambassador to Lebanon, said that the Gulf countries are well aware that if directly involved, it will only make the war last longer. Unlike the US, which is thousands of miles away, the Gulf countries “know very well that Iran will be their neighbor no matter what happens in the future.” Therefore, starting from long-term geopolitical reality, they “will have to coexist with Iran.”

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