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US ignites Iran war, but Gulf Arab states pay the price

The US may have pulled the trigger on the Iran war, but it is the oil-producing Gulf that will pay the price, Gulf sources and analysts say, signalling unease in ties between a region under Iranian attack and the superpower it relies on for protection. Behind the scenes, resentment is mounting ​in Gulf Arab capitals at being drawn into a war they neither initiated nor endorsed but are now paying for economically and militarily, with airports, hotels, ports and military and oil installations hit by Iranian strikes, said three ‌regional sources, who declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak publicly. "It is not our war. We did not want this conflict, yet we are paying the price in our security and our economy," Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Center, told Reuters. That doesn't mean Iran is "innocent", she said. Gulf governments had assured Tehran they would not allow their territories or airspace to be used by...
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Over 10,000 Chinese citizens return from Middle East amid war

Over 10,000 Chinese nationals have safely returned from countries including the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing on Tuesday. China's foreign ministry and civil aviation administration have guided domestic airlines to increase capacity to repatriate Chinese citizens stranded in the Middle East, Guo added. More than 3,000 Chinese citizens had already been evacuated from Iran, the foreign ministry said last week. The war in the Middle East, which broke out after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, led to flight cancellations across the region. Major Chinese airlines, including Air China and China Southern Airlines, resumed flights earlier this month between some Chinese cities and Gulf hubs such as Riyadh and Dubai. Read: Airline shares battered as oil prices spike, Iran war intensifies China has condemned the US and Israeli strikes, repeatedly called for a ceasefire, and sent an envoy to the Middle East for mediation. It also proposed a five-point approach to address the escalating situation, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urging an immediate ceasefire, respect for sovereignty and a return to political dialogue to prevent further instability in the Middle East. Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress, Wang outlined China’s five-point position for resolving conflict in the volatile region. The framework, according to the transcript issued by China’s foreign ministry, includes respecting national sovereignty, rejecting the abuse of force, adhering to non-interference in internal affairs, promoting political settlement through dialogue and encouraging major powers to play a constructive role in restoring peace. Read More: China urges US to manage differences Meanwhile, the conflict in the Middle East rages on, with at least 1,332 Iranian civilians having been killed and thousands wounded, according to Iran's UN ambassador. Trump said on Monday that the US had inflicted serious damage on Iran's military, predicting that the conflict would end before the initial four-week time frame he had set out, although he had not defined what victory would look like. US officials have mainly said Washington aims to destroy Iran's missile capabilities and nuclear programme, but Trump has said the war can end only with a compliant Iranian government. Israel, on the other hand, says its aim is to overthrow Iran's system of clerical rule while the Islamic Republic continues its attacks on US military bases in the region. A spokesperson of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said "We are the ones who will determine the end of the war," describing Trump's comments as "nonsense", according to state media.

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