Link: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/3/7/irans-strikes-on-the-gulf-burning-the-bridges-of-good-neighbourliness

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What this op-ed seems to forget is that Iran didn't start this war and that the military personnel of the nations that attacked them are in fact valid targets.

Tehran has sought to justify the attacks by arguing that the presence of US military bases on Gulf soil makes those states legitimate targets. This logic does not hold. The GCC states gave ironclad assurances to Iran, continuously and emphatically, both before the war and up to its very eve, that their territories would not be used to attack Iran.

This logic does indeed hold. Just a few days ago Trump said the following:

Spain actually said that we can't use their bases. And that's all right. We could use their base if we want. We could just fly in and use it. Nobody's going to tell us not to use it.

That's the leader of the country that attacked Iran saying to a different head of state that they don't require permission to use Spain's military bases. What good are the promises of the gulf states in restraining US actions from their land when the US has already attacked Iran and has publicly said they don't need permission to use their bases?

American soldiers signed up for this. It was never just about free tuition and health care. The realities of war in the enforcement of American hegemony were always on the table. Now the US has started yet another senseless war, and it's soldiers, even those in the gulf states, are valid targets getting their comeuppance.

Seems qatar has some controlcon eljazeera editorial line