Gulf allies are bracing for a possible American strike on Iran this week, even as Tehran and Washington talk.
Gulf allies are bracing for a possible American strike on Iran this week, even as Tehran and Washington talk.
The Wall Street Journal reports that US allies in the Gulf expect an attack could come within days and fear Iranian retaliation against their own economic and civilian sites. The Times adds a wider warning: if the US opens a new military operation, Iran could hit American bases in Britain, Germany, Italy and Portugal, and Iranian officials have also named undersea internet cables as a possible target.
At the same time, the diplomacy track is moving. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed intensive talks through mediators, saying the outcome depends on Washington's political foresight, and US President Donald Trump said everything with Iran is going well, pointing to falling oil prices as a sign people had heard something. The US vice president added that no exact date has been set to resume strikes.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard then claimed it seized two American reconnaissance planes near Qeshm island, off Iran's southern coast, using electronic warfare. That claim is unconfirmed and comes from one side only, so treat it as a claim, not a verified capture.
The picture is two tracks at once: war preparation in public, negotiation in private, and both sides signalling to the other through the press. What breaks first, the talks or the restraint, decides whether the Gulf's week ends in a deal or a strike.
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