00:00Iran expanded its targets this Tuesday, as Reza has been saying, striking the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia
00:06as Washington begins to pull out many of its staff from the Middle East.
00:10An attack from two drones hitting the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, causing a limited fire, according to Saudi Arabia's
00:16defense ministry.
00:17And the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound.
00:20It followed an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, the embassy there announcing it's closed until further notice.
00:30Let's bring in our correspondent, Hoda Abdelhamid, who's in Doha for France 24.
00:35Hoda, thanks for being with us.
00:37There's much to talk about, and I'm wondering, on this particular day, what is it that is occupying your thoughts?
00:43What is your sense of what is happening?
00:46Well, I think today was a bit of a lull, in the sense that we had some loud explosions in
00:53the morning,
00:54some loud explosions in the afternoon, but there is a sense of apprehension.
01:00Among people here in Qatar, and I would say really throughout the Gulf,
01:05simply because this idea that Iran is just targeting U.S. assets is not really true.
01:14You know, in the weeks and days leading to the war, people were talking about it.
01:20People were worried, but people were always reassuring themselves that, well, anyway, we are not the target.
01:25The target will be, for example, here in Qatar, the Al-Udaid base.
01:29Now, things have changed.
01:32The explosions are loud.
01:35Some Qatari assets have been hit.
01:38Hotels in Dubai have been hit.
01:41Assets in Saudi Arabia.
01:43So people begin to worry.
01:46And I think among many of the foreign expats who live here, they are the majority here in Qatar.
01:54They are the majority in the UAE.
01:56There's a sense that maybe they don't know how to get out of here if things get worse.
02:02I think the one question everybody has all the time is what do we do and how can we get
02:08out?
02:10I know there's some flights that have taken off from the Emirates.
02:14There's ways to reach Oman.
02:16But all of this, it takes a lot of risk, especially for people with children.
02:21And then it has a huge economic impact on these countries.
02:25When you have the Ras La Fan industrial complex shut down, that is the biggest source of income for this
02:35country.
02:36It hires thousands of people.
02:38This will have a ripple effect on the economy.
02:42And certainly, I think that the GCC that will emerge after this war is going to be very different than
02:50the GCC that entered the war.
02:51Indeed, the Gulf countries represented by the GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council.
02:55They are no doubt angry about what is happening right now with bombs falling in their backyard.
03:02And it's worth remembering, of course, that they've been dragged into this because I presume they were not consulted by
03:09the Americans before these strikes took place,
03:11even though they are their allies in the region, and so angry that they are now the target of Iranian
03:16missiles.
03:18I think more so they are angry because they were very much against this war.
03:25They haven't allowed the Americans to use their bases to launch attacks from, for example,
03:33Al-Qaeda or other bases in Saudi Arabia or in Kuwait towards Iran.
03:38But I think there's also the feeling, maybe they are not saying it publicly, but maybe privately there is a
03:46feeling a bit of betrayal in the sense that these countries have had these bases here,
03:51the El Udeid, the biggest base, American base in the region.
03:56There's many others around the region.
04:00And maybe they thought that this would bring them protection, and it actually did not.
04:06Yes, they bought a lot of equipment.
04:09Yes, they bought a lot of air defense systems.
04:13But by and large, the bigger numbers are going to Israel, of course.
04:18So I think there is that sense.
04:20And also there is a sense that they tried to keep out of it.
04:24Iran kept on saying that it will only attack U.S. assets.
04:28It's not doing that.
04:30And today I was listening to the press conferences here in Doha by the government spokesperson and then also in
04:38the UAE by the defense ministry spokesperson.
04:43And both of them were saying exactly the same thing, that Iran has crossed many red lines and that at
04:50the moment they have no sort of connection.
04:54They have no negotiation, they're not talking to anyone in Iran, and they reserve themselves the right to retaliate.
05:02Obviously, that is a bit far-fetched as things stand now, because if that happens, I think all hell will
05:09break loose, even worse than it is now.
05:12But certainly I think that they feel trapped in Iran, and nobody knows how far this is going to go,
05:21because you have the war now, but then you have the after war.
05:24There is a power vacuum at the moment in Iran.
05:28There will be a new leadership soon.
05:31Will that leadership be a compromise figure for everyone in Iran and outside of Iran?
05:38Things are getting extremely complicated, and people are worried.
05:44The leadership is worried.
05:46And I think at the moment they're taking it day by day, but I do imagine that there's a lot
05:52of phone calls and talks behind closed doors with American officials telling them that this needs to be wrapped up
06:01as soon as possible.
06:03Hoda, thank you very much indeed for your thoughts.
06:05Hoda Abdelhamid in Doha for France 24.
06:07Hoda, thank you once again, and do stay safe.
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