U.S. on Iran's abilities "rapidly declining"

Wow. And we are getting reports that America's Gulf allies, they are running dangerously low on interceptors to take down Iranian missiles. Are you getting a sense of concern that these countries will soon not be able to protect themselves or their people? Not really. No. It's very difficult to estimate how much they have and how much they have left. But what we do know is that Gulf countries are very rich and powerful countries. They have well-stocked armies, and they have a lot of allies. They've been so far successfully intercepting most missiles and drones that Iran has been targeting various vital infrastructure with. And so there isn't this sense that they're going to run out soon. However, there is a sense that Iran has a lot of missiles. It could go on for months. And more importantly, it has a lot of very cheap drones that are not that sophisticated to manufacture. And drones do cause a lot of harm.

Yeah. And, Maha, I want to ask you about this because you have a new piece out this morning, about Gulf nations facing their biggest food security challenge since the 2008 global food crisis, because of this ongoing war. Can you talk to us about why this is, and what strategies are being put in place to hopefully avoid it. Well, countries in the Gulf region, because of the harsh climate, are about 80% to 90% dependent on imports when it comes to their food. This includes perishables like bananas. This includes leaves for salad and strategic grains like wheat and rice. Traditionally, their policy after 2008 when there was massive rises in food prices, centered around investing very heavily in farmlands in Africa, in Europe, in Australia, in Canada, and in agricultural firms. And the idea behind that being that they have such massive investments abroad and they can import whatever they want at favorable prices. Now, all of that, of course, has been thrown in peril because of the massive disruptions in the Straits of Hormuz that are being reported. Most major ports in the Gulf, where imports flow, are located in areas where those cargoes would have to pass through Hormuz in order to get here. So there's a lot rethink that is required to reroute these cargoes to make things available.

Maha, I want to ask, what is the best-case scenario that can come out of all of this when it's all said and done? Well, people here are hopeful for dialogue. For Gulf countries, certainly, they're hopeful that this will end soon. They want this to end through dialogue, because all of these scenarios were really unthinkable only six days ago. Being targeted on a daily basis, having that image that they set up for themselves of financial stability, political stability, completely shattered in these six days. So for them, ideally, they want this to end as soon as possible. Now, whether that will happen or not is a big question.

Yeah, a big and important question. Maha El Dahan, thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it.