US President Donald Trump has claimed that several Arab countries are now pushing to join the military offensive after coming under Iranian attack — a development he described as “the biggest surprise” so far, as per a CNN report.
In an interview with CNN, Trump said Iran had targeted regional states including Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, triggering a sharp shift in their stance.
“We were surprised,” Trump said. “We told them, ‘We’ve got this,’ and now they want to fight. And they’re aggressively fighting. They were going to be very little involved and now they insist on being involved.”
However, developments on the ground suggest that while Gulf nations have strongly condemned Tehran’s strikes, most have so far exercised military restraint, wary of a wider regional spillover and the political sensitivities surrounding direct action against Iran.
The US and Israel launched coordinated attacks against Iran on Saturday. In retaliation, Iran launched attacks on US bases in the Middle East, including in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai. The conflict has since escalated as Israel and Iran traded fresh attacks on Monday.
Iran’s latest barrage reportedly included missiles and drones that struck not only military-linked sites but also civilian locations such as luxury hotels and residential areas in parts of the UAE, deepening alarm across the Gulf.
The US president said he was familiar with the Arab leadership, describing them as “tough and smart.” According to Trump, Iranian strikes, including attacks on civilian locations, provoked anger in the region.
“The Iranians… shot into a hotel, they shot into an apartment house. It just made them angry,” he said, adding that the countries had initially been watching from the sidelines and that “there was no reason for them to be involved.”
Trump reiterated that Iran’s actions against these nations were “probably the biggest surprise” of the conflict so far.
He also pointed to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions as a long-standing source of regional instability. “You have to understand, they were living under that dark cloud for years. That’s why you could never have peace,” Trump said.
‘BIG WAVE YET TO COME’
As the conflict in Iran entered its third day, President Donald Trump said that the US military is “knocking the crap” out of Iran and then went on to warn that the “big wave” is yet to come.
“We’re knocking the crap out of them,” Trump told in an interview with CNN, adding that he believes operations are “going very well” and describing the campaign as “very powerful.” He also asserted that the United States has “the greatest military in the world and we’re using it.”
During the conversation, Trump touched on several issues, including how long the conflict might last, his surprise over the scale of Iran’s retaliation, and questions around Tehran’s potential succession planning.
When asked whether Washington is taking steps beyond military action to help the Iranian people “regain control” from the regime, Trump replied, “Yes.”
“We are indeed. But right now we want everyone staying inside. It’s not safe out there,” he said.
Trump further cautioned that conditions could worsen, saying, “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
