By Athena Pakakosta

A few months ago the New York Times reported that analysts remained divided on how Arab countries would react to the prospect direct conflict between Israel and Iran. Some argued that they would press for security guarantees from Washington, and others that they would attempt to distance themselves from the possibility of being targeted by Tehran.

Already, from the very beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, most Arab states have called for restraint, and although they have condemned Israeli aggression, they have not made any mention of support for Tehran.

Oman stressed that an immediate ceasefire is critical. Kuwait emphasized the need to address the root causes of conflicts in the region. Saudi Arabia had expressed its strong concern about the dangerous consequences of the military escalation and to this day insists on the establishment of a Palestinian state, while Qatar works steadily behind closed doors maintaining a mediator role to achieve a truce.

It is a fact that its power Iran it is a thorn in the region and many Arab states have their own reasons to be bothered by it. However, as the British newspaper The Guardian noted in its analysis, they seem to know that in the long term a possible weakening of Tehran could create an unwanted, destabilizing vacuum, which could be filled by Israel, which openly states that it wants to change the balance. power in the Middle East.

In light of the fact that further escalation in the Middle East may threaten their own oil facilities, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf are trying to assure Tehran of their neutrality in the Israel-Iran conflict.

The information that Israel will launch strikes against Iranian oil facilities they thicken. Even the American president himself, having already betrayed the diplomatic bargain between Israel and the United States about the targets of Israeli retaliation, admitted that the discussion about strikes against Tehran’s oil facilities is open.

For its part, Iran may not have openly threatened to attack Gulf oil facilities, but it has warned that “if supporters of Israel” intervene, then their interests in the region will be targeted.

And the Gulf countries may not believe that Iran will take such an action, but as it is known according to Reuters, Tehran is dropping hints through unofficial sources.

As analysts explain, this threat is a weapon that Tehran has in its hands against Washington and the global economy.

Already on fears that Israel will strike Iran’s oil infrastructure, the price of oil has risen by 5% with the price of crude – after the Iranian missile storm against Israel – climbing to $77 a barrel, registering an increase 10%

There is also great concern over the possibility of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil artery, through which a quarter of all seaborne oil and a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade pass.