Tehran has told Gulf states it would be “unacceptable” if they allowed their airspace to be used against Iran and any such move would draw a response, a senior Iranian official said Tuesday, as it braces for a possible Israeli response to last week’s Iranian missile attack.
The official was speaking as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi headed to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states for talks.
The comments also followed discussions between Iran and Gulf Arab capitals last week on the sidelines of an Asia conference in Qatar, when Gulf states sought to reassure Iran of their neutrality in any conflict between Tehran and Israel.
“Iran made it clear that any action by a Persian Gulf country against Tehran, whether through the use of airspace or military bases, will be regarded by Tehran as an action taken by the entire group, and Tehran will respond accordingly,” the senior Iranian official told Reuters.
“The message emphasized the need for regional unity against Israel and the importance of securing stability. It also made clear that any assistance to Israel, such as allowing the use of a regional country’s airspace for actions against Iran, is unacceptable,” he said.
The official said Iran did not discuss the issue of Gulf Arab oil producers raising output if Iranian production was disrupted during any escalation.
A Western diplomat in the Gulf said that during the Gulf-Iran meeting in Doha on Thursday on the conference sidelines, Iran had made it clear that Tehran had called for regional unity in the face of any possible Israeli response, and that it considered neutrality of Gulf states a bare minimum.
The diplomat said Iran had made it clear that Tehran would keep a close eye on how each Gulf country responded in the case of an Israeli attack, and also how US bases housed in their countries were used.
Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all host US military facilities or troops.
Israel has vowed to exact a heavy price after Iran fired 200 ballistic missiles at Israel last week. Much of the barrage was intercepted by air defenses, and the attack ultimately killed one Palestinian and wounded two Israelis.
The IDF also later admitted that a number of the missiles had impacted in or near IDF bases, although defense officials asserted that the Israeli Air Force’s readiness was not harmed and there was no significant damage.
After the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Tehran had made a “big mistake” and vowed that “it will pay for it,” and the IDF has said it is planning its response, which will be “serious and significant.”
A New York Times report on Monday said that Israel’s first retaliation will likely focus on military bases, and maybe intelligence or leadership sites, but that Israel will probably decline to hit Iran’s nuclear facilities unless the Islamic Republic escalates further.
Israel is reportedly also considering a strike on Iranian oil assets, which could deal a heavy economic blow to the country and spike global oil prices.