AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
President Trump's decision to bomb three nuclear sites in Iran has raised the specter that the war - which Israel launched nine days ago - could widen and draw in more countries. While Israel's leadership is celebrating the U.S. attack, Arab governments are expressing concern of potential escalation, including the possibility that Iran could retaliate against U.S. troops stationed across the region. We're joined by NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy, who's in the Gulf. Hi, Aya.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.
RASCOE: So what's been the response from countries in the region so far to these U.S. attacks on Iranian soil?
BATRAWY: So the region was bracing for this, given the rhetoric and warnings, some would say, coming from Trump in recent days, but this really does change the scope of the war dramatically and takes the region into uncharted territory. And that's the real fear here. No one knows where this goes next. You know, the Saudis did come out with a statement expressing concern and calling for deescalation. So, too, did Qatar, Egypt, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. And Gulf countries have to walk a fine line here. They rely on the U.S. for their defense, and they have very close ties with Trump, but there are also thousands of U.S. troops here. There's the Navy's Fifth Fleet off the coast of Bahrain. Thousands of American troops at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in addition to positions and assets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and beyond. So all of these could become targets.
RASCOE: And has Iran indicated how it might respond to the U.S. bombing of three of its nuclear sites?
BATRAWY: So Iran says its nuclear program was for peaceful energy purposes and that this war was unprovoked, and it says it will defend its territory with all possible means. Iran's Revolutionary Guard, or IRGC, said after the attacks that U.S. military bases in the region are not a point of strength but, quote, "have doubled in vulnerability." Other targets could be oil and gas facilities and shipments. You know, we did see that happen during Trump's first term in office when tensions spiked with Iran. You remember Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery was struck then, and so, too, were oil tankers.
The Strait of Hormuz is this vital passageway for a lot of the world's oil and gas from these Gulf Arab countries to places like China and India. It's narrow, and it sits right between the UAE and Iran. And so if oil shipments there were to be impeded, prices would surge globally. You know, right now, Brent crude is still below $80 a barrel, but we could see that climb in trading tomorrow just from these U.S. attacks.
RASCOE: Aya, are there still off-ramps here for diplomacy, or do these U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites close the door to that completely?
BATRAWY: So this war could really throw off the economic growth and plans for Gulf Arab countries like Saudi Arabia. It could dampen or even disrupt travel through major hubs like Dubai. So for now, we've seen a flurry of diplomatic calls in the region over the past several days, including from Gulf Arab rulers to Iran's leadership to Washington to really try and calm tensions. But have a listen to what Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in Istanbul this morning.
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ABBAS ARAGHCHI: Of course, the door for diplomacy should be always keep open, but this is not the case right now. My country has been under attack, under aggression, and we have to respond based on our legitimate drive of self-defense.
BATRAWY: And he notes Iran was in talks with the U.S. about its nuclear program, but he says the U.S. betrayed that diplomacy and, quote, "decided to blow it up."
RASCOE: Now, Egyptian intelligence officials tell NPR that Washington had asked Cairo to tell Iran that this attack was coming and that they needed to end their nuclear enrichment program. Now, we haven't heard confirmation from the White House on this, but Egypt's foreign minister did speak directly with his Iranian counterpart in Turkey yesterday, and Egypt's foreign minister also had a call yesterday with Trump's Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. And Egypt's president spoke with Iran's president yesterday. Now, these are not last-ditch efforts at diplomacy, Ayesha. We can see them more as continued back-channel diplomatic efforts to limit the scope of both the U.S. involvements in this war and Iran's response.
BATRAWY: That's NPR international correspondent in Dubai Aya Batrawy. Thank you so much for joining us.
RASCOE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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