Gulf officials at a summit in Bahrain talked up the need for diplomacy to solve the region’s security crisis, yet a sense of helplessness hung over the atmosphere. Unlike at the beginning of the year, when messages coming out of the Gulf were less aligned, officials and diplomats at the Manama Dialogue supported Qatar-led mediation efforts with Iran and were clearly against the US attacking it again, concerned that renewed bombing would lead to even more destructive consequences for their countries.

There was, however, hardly any US presence to hear that message. The Gulf’s primary security partner sent its smallest delegation to the event in years, despite Bahrain hosting the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

“People in this part of the world want to bring peace back to the region,” Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji said, while also emphasizing that the kingdom was investing to boost its defense and deterrence capabilities. Urging diplomacy while also preparing for conflict is a reflection that the most consequential decisions for the Gulf are now being made elsewhere, and all it can do is steel itself for the fallout.

Gulf countries “don’t really want to see another round of confrontation in the region,” said Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president. “But we are braced for the worst.”