Even as the Donald Trump administration has struggled to rally the international community to respond to a series of alleged Iranian attacks in the Gulf that culminated in this month’s strike against a Saudi oil facility, the US is making another effort to forge a military alliance of Middle Eastern states.
Over the past several weeks, the State and Defense Departments have gathered a bloc of Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, despite an ongoing blockade of Doha. Egypt exited the alliance last year.
