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Iran-US row puts Gulf at risk

Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar have intensified quiet diplomacy to discourage US military action, pairing it with stepped-up security coordination.

A photograph shows newspapers, one of them (R) with a headline in Persian reading "Iran is ready for a big response", at a kiosk in Tehran on January 27, 2026. (ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)

Welcome back to Al-Monitor Gulf.

This week, against the backdrop of a possible US-Iran confrontation, Gulf capitals are once again recalibrating their security postures due to a sharp American military buildup and renewed threats of retaliation from Tehran and its regional allies.

Plus, why Saudi Arabia has reshuffled the management of Neom. 

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