Gulf States' Response and Alignments

Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.
On today's podcast:
1) President Trump said the bombing campaign against Iran will continue until its objectives are achieved, calling on the nation’s leaders to capitulate as a report indicated at least one top official in Tehran sought to resume nuclear talks with the US. Trump on Sunday re-confirmed the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and said the US and Israel had struck hundreds of targets in Iran including Revolutionary Guard facilities and air defenses. The US military’s Central Command announced Sunday that three US service members were killed and five “seriously wounded” during operations against the Islamic Republic, but gave no further details. Trump, who campaigned for the presidency on a pledge not to endanger American troops in the Middle East, called their deaths part of “the righteous mission” in a video posted on social media. “There will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
2) Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are stepping up criticism of Iran’s regional attacks, while Gulf states consider coordinating efforts to halt what they’ve called “treacherous” and “heinous” actions by Tehran. Ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council nations held an extraodinary meeting on Sunday to review damages from Iran’s strikes on countries spanning from the UAE to Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, and consider necessary steps to restore stability and peace to the Middle East, according to a statement from state-run Saudi Press Agency. The states affirmed their right to respond to respond to Iran in “self-defense, either individually or collectively” and said GCC members “will take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and to protect their territories, citizens, and residents, including the option to respond to the aggression.”
3) Oil surged the most in four years as traders gauged the impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered by US and Israeli strikes against Iran, with hostilities escalating across the region. Global benchmark Brent was more than 9% higher near $80 a barrel, after earlier rallying by as much as 13% to the highest since January 2025. Tanker traffic through the strait — the chokepoint off Iran’s coast that handles a fifth of the world’s oil and large volumes of gas — has largely halted, with a self-imposed pause in place by shipowners and traders as the conflict spreads.

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