Natasha Turak, a journalist covering the Middle East from Dubai, says Gulf nations never fully endorsed Trump’s “Project Freedom”, despite it aligning with their desires to see the Strait of Hormuz reopen.

“I think there were some fears that yet another layer of militarisation here could provide a tripwire for more escalation, which is essentially what we saw,” said Turak, referring to skirmishes in the strait and attacks on the UAE on Monday. Iran denied being behind those attacks.

Turak told Al Jazeera that Trump’s decision to pause his new operation in the strait will concern leaders across the Gulf.

“I think there is fear in Gulf capitals that the mindset in Tehran is that this escalation might be paying off, because President Trump is so keen to extricate himself from this conflict.”

“It is crucial for their economies, and they do not want to see a world where Iran is the gatekeeper of that waterway. They also don’t want to see a world where there is permanent US militarisation there,” Turak said.

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