Gulf Braces for Possible Return to All-Out US–Iran War as Washington Orders Staff Out of Saudi Arabia
The Gulf countries and the wider Middle East are bracing for a possible resumption of hostilities in the Iran war, amid multiple simultaneous warnings, increasingly detailed media reports, a massive US military build-up in the Gulf and Israeli and Iranian armies placed on high alert — raising fears of an imminent escalation with devastating consequences for the region.
Speculation has grown in recent weeks that the US and Israel may launch a new attack on Iran before or after the US midterm elections and next week's elections in Israel — a short, intensive military campaign to push Tehran into concessions. Against that backdrop, a new US State Department travel alert issued on Wednesday evening was relayed by news agencies and wider media as an urgent signal of how imminent a restart of the war might be.
The State Department announced that it had ordered non-essential US government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, as 'the hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area'.
Several news outlets, quoting diplomatic sources, reported that families of embassy staff in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain were also ordered to leave. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott, however, called those reports 'inaccurate', writing on X that the ordered departure applied to Saudi Arabia only, as a result of growing Houthi attacks.
The Saudi warning followed a Middle East-wide red alert issued by Washington on Monday to US citizens in 12 countries — Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, Yemen and Iran — citing risks of potential attacks on US interests.
The US has been rebuilding a massive strike force in the Gulf, sending more military assets to the region, including a third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops, to join what reports describe as the largest US naval and air presence in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Iran has been warning for weeks that it has reorganised its defence capabilities and that any attack would be matched with a devastating response against US interests and civilian infrastructure across the region — far worse, and longer, than its previous attacks on the Gulf nations. Iranian officials and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are preparing for war, having declared their '100% certainty' that the US and Israel will attack again.
According to reports in Iran, Tehran has activated its so-called Mosaic Defence doctrine, under which Iran would fight in a decentralised way, giving local commanders a list of targets so they can keep fighting even if the central command is destroyed.
In parallel with Wednesday's alert, the New York Times and other outlets reported that the US and Israel have developed specific plans for new strikes on Iran after the US midterm elections. President Donald Trump has said any decision on a new attack on Iran would be made after the midterms. Quoting US officials, the Times reported that targets would likely include Iran's energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities and arsenals of missiles and drones, with the objective of pushing Iran into a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week on an unannounced trip to Israel to discuss 'the threats in the region'. Speaking at an IDF officer graduation ceremony on Wednesday night, Netanyahu said the Tehran regime must finally be overthrown, arguing that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had decided to follow in his father's footsteps and attempt once again to develop 'the bombs of death'.
The younger Khamenei was selected as supreme leader after his father Ali Khamenei was killed in the US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in the opening salvo of the war on February 28, yet he has not been seen in public amid continued reports questioning his health. Earlier this week, US media reported that dozens of Israeli fighter jets and refuelling aircraft flew towards the Iranian border before turning back — sorties the Times of Israel called a military exercise and a 'show of force'. US officials questioned the deployment, believing its purpose was to test Iranian air defences and provoke them into opening fire.
Israeli media reported that Israeli security officials warned the government that an attack on Iran could be perceived as political interference in next week's election. Opposition leader Yair Lapid told Israeli media that, based on the information available to him, 'there is absolutely no reason to attack Iran or anywhere else before the elections'.
On Thursday, seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by Iran or striking naval mines, Tehran said — a markedly high number as tensions wind upward. Iran still asserts control over the waterway, a central point of leverage in any talks with the US over the war.
During a state visit to Qatar, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stern warning on Wednesday about the Gulf's fragile security situation, urging 'extreme caution' to avoid escalating tensions after talks with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Macron told the media he was 'very cautious because no one can tell how the situation will evolve in the next days and weeks', and said that with elections in Israel and the US midterms, efforts must be doubled so tensions do not result in a resumption of conflict.
Nevertheless, US–Iran exchanges continue through international mediators, with Qatar and Pakistan leading efforts to find a diplomatic breakthrough. The US has previously applied pressure and threats on Iran to push for concessions. A return to all-out war would again endanger civilians throughout the region — which is why the Gulf, and the wider world, are watching every move in the days ahead.
