IISS report: Gulf states must overhaul trillion-dollar defence strategy after US-Iran war
Study questions value of US bases and reliance on American weapons after Iranian attacks exposed vulnerabilities.
What to know
- An IISS report concludes that Gulf states' trillion-dollar investment in US weapons and reliance on American military bases failed to protect them during the US-Iran war, with $58bn in damage to energy infrastructure.
- The study identifies critical vulnerabilities: overdependence on expensive high-end systems against cheaper drones and missiles, no regional defence integration, and limited retaliatory capacity.
- US Senator Chris Murphy is questioning whether the US should rebuild destroyed bases, citing the cost of defending installations that could be eliminated within 24 hours of conflict.
- Public opinion in the Gulf is shifting from viewing the US as a security provider to seeing it as a strategic liability.
“overwhelming reliance on US-supplied air- and missile-defence systems and munitions; a failure to achieve regional defence integration; a shortage of minesweeping capability; limited retaliatory options; and the prohibitive costs stemming from an overdependence on expensive, high-end systems to take down relatively inexpensive drones and missiles”
International Institute for Strategic Studies, Defence research organization · The Guardian ↗
International Institute for Strategic Studies Defence research organization
Chris Murphy Democratic Senator, Senate Foreign Relations Committee memberGulf states Regional actors
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Senator Chris Murphy questions value of rebuilding US bases in Gulf region
Democratic Senator and Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Chris Murphy stated that debate is underway in the US military about whether to rebuild damaged bases, asking rhetorically whether bases are worth maintaining if they can be destroyed within 24 hours of conflict onset.
“What good is it to have a base in the region to protect American interests if within 24 hours of a hot war starting, it is wiped off the map?”
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"The report says that in the weeks before the 8 April ceasefire, 12 regional states, overwhelmingly in the Gulf, faced 4,670 Iranian one-way attack drones and more than 1,400 ballistic missiles." @theguardian.com
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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The US-Iran war highlights an “uncomfortable truth for the Gulf states: not only has their trillion-dollar acquisition of US weapons not translated into US protection at the crucial time, but their respective militaries are also not adequately prepared for the new kind of attritional air war to which they are being exposed. Despite huge investment…
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https://www. europesays.com/3341781/ Gulf states must rethink trillion-dollar defence in light of US-Iran war, says report | Middle East and north Africa # Conflicts # Iran # MiddleEast # MiddleEastCrisis # Tehran
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IISS releases study questioning Gulf states' defence strategy and US military presence
The International Institute for Strategic Studies published findings that Gulf states must reconfigure their trillion-dollar defence spending due to war damage and the questionable value of US bases. The report identifies major shortcomings including overwhelming reliance on US-supplied air and missile-defence systems, failure to achieve regional defence integration, shortage of minesweeping capability, and prohibitive costs of expensive systems against cheaper drones and missiles.
“not only has their trillion-dollar acquisition of US weapons not translated into US protection at the crucial time, but their respective militaries are also not adequately prepared for the new kind of attritional air war…”
— International Institute for Strategic Studies -
first by Mastodon, 12d ago · also Guardian
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background
US-Iran war results in ceasefire after sustained Iranian missile and drone campaign — In the weeks before the ceasefire, 12 regional states, overwhelmingly in the Gulf, faced 4,670 Iranian one-way attack drones and more than 1,400 ballistic missiles, with nearly half aimed at the UAE. Damage to energy infrastructure was estimated as high as $58 billion.