Report: Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait Ban US Warplanes for Strikes

By Staff, Agencies

Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states have imposed a ban on US warplanes using their air fields or skies for strikes which have seen a significant rise targeting Yemen in recent weeks, a report says.

The US has been moving warplanes and cargo to Jordan and Persian Gulf states at the highest level since the October 7, 2023 operationinside southern "Israeli" settlements by Hamas. 

The number of US military cargo flights to the region has reportedly surged by 50 percent compared to previous highs.

In response to the Persian Gulf states' ban, the US has amassed B-2 bombers used in recent bombings of Yemen at Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.

Last week, the Ansarullah movement warned of attacks on Abu Dhabi and Dubai if the UAE's "reckless actions" through collaboration with the US in attacks on Yemen persisted.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are especially worried by US President Donald Trump's belligerent rhetoric against Iran recently, threatening “bombing the likes of which they (Iranians) have never seen before”. 

The Trump administration has been courting the Persian Gulf states to come on board as it ramps up a "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran, but "they do not want to be drawn in", the Middle East Eye reported, citing what it called a senior US official. 

According to the London-based outlet, US military and intelligence officials met with both their Emirati and Saudi counterparts in March in Washington DC, around the time of the first strikes on Yemen.

In quick succession, the Trump administration approved long-stalled arms sales to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Doha received approval to purchase MQ-9 Reaper drones, and Riyadh secured weapon systems that convert unguided air to ground rockets to precision rockets, it said.

Trump said on Monday that he plans to visit Saudi Arabia and potentially other Persian Gulf states as early as May. 

The US president is pursuing maximalist demands on Iran’s nuclear energy program, but the Persian Gulf states’ intransigence is a setback for his administration, the Middle East Eye said. 

The US has at least 40,000 troops in West Asia, with the majority deployed in the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, where they are based at a string of strategic air and naval bases.

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base is home to the US’s 378th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates F-16 and F-35 jet fighters.

The US operates MQ-9 Reaper drones and jet fighters out of the UAE’s Al Dhafra Air Base. Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem Air Base is home to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base hosts the regional headquarters for US Central Command. It has also reportedly hosted some "Israeli" military officials.

The island kingdom of Bahrain is home to around 9,000 US troops that belong to the headquarters of the US Naval Forces Central Command and the US Fifth Fleet.

Yemen’s military has over the past year targeted various American, British and "Israeli" vessels crossing the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea in solidarity with Gazans.

The US military has recently been targeting several areas in Yemen, hoping to use massive airstrikes on Yemen’s civilian infrastructure as a show of force to push Tehran to the negotiating table.