“War is coming”: European and Gulf officials fear renewed U.S. strikes on Iran could trigger wider regional retaliation

European and Gulf officials are increasingly bracing for a new round of U.S. military action against Iran, warning that Washington’s large regional military presence could expose Gulf states to extensive Iranian retaliation, Reuters reported Monday.

Four European officials told Reuters the United States had amassed enough forces and assets in the region to attack Iran at short notice, potentially as soon as this week.

“War is coming,” a fifth European official in close contact with Gulf leaders said. “Nobody is in favour of this war.”

The warnings follow President Donald Trump’s threat that the United States could launch “another little Operation Epic Fury” after Tuesday’s midterm elections, referring to the U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran that began on February 28.

Iranian officials have told Reuters that Tehran has prepared detailed target lists for retaliation if the United States and Israel attack again. Potential targets include military bases and undersea communications cables, while energy infrastructure, desalination facilities and communications networks across Gulf states could also be at risk.

A Gulf official told Reuters governments were preparing for a worst-case scenario in which renewed U.S. strikes prompted Iranian attacks on civilian infrastructure across the region.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain that another round of fighting would be more dangerous and destructive than the previous one and “will lead to nowhere.”

Regional governments are simultaneously pushing diplomacy. Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar have held talks with Tehran, while UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the region hoped for a diplomatic breakthrough but was “braced for the worst.”

The White House told Reuters that “all options” remained available and said Iran faced “the easy way or the hard way.”