# Why Iran targets the Gulf states

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Why Iran targets the Gulf states," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/why-iran-targets-the-gulf-states/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's explanation of why Iranian missiles fell more heavily on Gulf Arab states than on Israel during the 2026 war: the Gulf has no Iron Dome, a finite missile stock has to be spent where it counts, and hosting American forces converted an uneasy coexistence into open enmity.*

- **First reason:** The Gulf states have no [Iron Dome](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iron-dome)
- **Second reason:** A finite missile stock must be made to count
- **Third reason:** They house American troops, airmen and ships
- **Aggravating factor:** [The Abraham Accords](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/abraham-accords)

**Why Iran targets the Gulf states** is [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)'s answer to a question put to him during the [2026 Iran war](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/2026-iran-war): why Iranian strikes fell so much more heavily on the Gulf Arab states than on Israel, beyond the fact that the Gulf is closer.

His first answer is defensive coverage. The Gulf states *"don't have [Iron Dome](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iron-dome)"* — so *"if you only have a certain number of missiles, you want to make them count."*[1][2]

His second is political. Gulf–Iranian relations had long been *"this uneasy coexistence"* on top of mutual hostility — *"Gulf states and Iran have always hated each other"* — but hosting the war's infrastructure ended the ambiguity: *"if the Gulf states are going to sponsor and house American troops and airmen and ships and all that stuff, then the Iranians are all in."*[2][3]

He adds [the Abraham Accords](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/abraham-accords) as an aggravating factor, agreeing that they *"must have driven them absolutely crazy"* and calling them the thing that *"added insult to injury."*[3]

The consequences for Qatar specifically are at [the Ras Laffan strike](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-ras-laffan-strike) and [South Pars and the North Dome](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/south-pars-and-the-north-dome).

## See also

- [The Iron Dome](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iron-dome)
- [Abraham Accords](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/abraham-accords)
- [The Ras Laffan Strike](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-ras-laffan-strike)
- [Iranian strikes on Gulf hotels](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iranian-strikes-on-gulf-hotels)

## Sources

1. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2026-03-20), at 55:49. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=145C1-XphQs&t=3349s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
2. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2026-03-20), at 56:20. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=145C1-XphQs&t=3380s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
3. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2026-03-20), at 56:51. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=145C1-XphQs&t=3411s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/

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