AP News: Gulf allies urge US to continue prosecuting war against Iran

Gulf allies of the United States, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are urging President Donald Trump to continue prosecuting the war against Iran, arguing that Tehran hasn't been weakened enough by the monthlong US-led bombing campaign, according to US, Gulf and Israeli officials, Report informs via AP News.

After private grumbling at the start of the war that they were not given adequate advance notice of the US-Israeli attack and complaining the US had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some of the regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran's clerical rule once and for all.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have conveyed in private conversations that they do not want the military operation to end until there are significant changes in the Iranian leadership or there's a dramatic shift in Iranian behavior, according to the officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The push from the Gulf nations comes as Trump vacillates between claiming that Iran's decimated leadership is ready to settle the conflict and threatening to further escalate the war if a deal is not reached soon.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran. As a result, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior officials were killed. Following this, Iran began striking targets not only in Israel but also at US and allied military bases located in Gulf countries. Due to the situation in the Middle East, some regional states temporarily closed their airspace. Shortly after launching a joint operation against Iran, armed conflict between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah resumed.