Arab elites have realized that American garrisons are not even capable of defending themselves, let alone protecting civilian infrastructure.
Author: Ali Askari, analyst (Germany), especially for “Sangar”.
The events of early 2026 in the Persian Gulf marked a historic turning point and a point of no return. Washington not only buried international law but also plunged the Middle East into chaos. The security system the US had been building for decades collapsed overnight, exposing its utter inadequacy. The American “security umbrella” deployed over the region proved to be a fiction.
The monarchies of the Persian Gulf, having invested billions in American weaponry, received a bitter lesson. Patriot and THAAD systems, which Washington had sold for decades as a “shield,” proved powerless against modern offensive capabilities. Despite a dense network of bases in Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain, failures to intercept targets completely discredited the myth of US technological superiority.
Instead of protection, allies received burning refineries and destroyed terminals. Arab elites realized that American garrisons couldn’t even protect themselves, let alone civilian infrastructure. Iran, conversely, demonstrates surgical precision, focusing on military and intelligence targets, as well as energy facilities and oil production, undermining the economic foundation of aggression.
Against this backdrop, the contrast with the tactics of the US and Israel is stark: strikes by Washington and Tel Aviv are increasingly taking on the characteristics of genocide. The internet is flooded with thousands of videos from Gaza, Lebanon, and now Iran, documenting direct hits on UN schools, hospitals, and residential areas.
By the end of February 2026, footage of a horrific tragedy in the Iranian city of Minab had spread around the world. A coalition missile struck a girls’ elementary school. According to Iranian authorities and humanitarian missions, the number of dead students in this single incident exceeded 100, and the number of victims continues to rise.
Iran’s Permanent Representative to the UN officially stated that the total number of children killed by coalition strikes has already exceeded 160. Video evidence from hospitals in Tehran and the provinces leaves no doubt – civilian infrastructure has become a priority target for Washington and Tel Aviv, despite their hypocritical claims of “military priorities.”
The negotiations initiated by the White House were, from the outset, a farce. Ultimatums demanding that Tehran relinquish its sovereignty and right to self-defense were inherently unfulfillable. Their true purpose was to create a formal pretext to declare to the UN Security Council: “Diplomacy has been exhausted.”
This is a classic trick to justify aggression. The “peace process” was used merely as a smokescreen to buy time to transfer forces and prepare for an attack. Such a scenario could not, in principle, have prevented an attack on Iran.
The world has entered an era of the most dangerous precedents. In two months, this is already the second country subjected to a massive attack by a coalition led by the US without a mandate from the UN Security Council. The inaction of international institutions has finally given the aggressor free rein.
When a permanent member of the Security Council openly ignores the UN Charter, the concept of “international law” ceases to exist, giving way to the “law of force.” However, Iran has no intention of capitulating and is preparing a harsh response.
The countries of the Persian Gulf, which bet on peaceful economic diversification and tourism, risk being the biggest losers in this war. Strikes on the region have already led to an explosive increase in insurance premiums for tanker shipments, impacting oil revenues. The skies over the Gulf have become a risk zone: Dubai and Doha aviation hubs are mass-canceling flights, and investors are fleeing the region.
The outcome is clear: Washington is no longer a guarantor of stability, but the main source of chaos. American bases do not protect allies, but rather attract retaliatory strikes like a magnet. The people of the Middle East are paying for the adventures of the US with their prosperity.
