Over lunch last week in the United Arab Emirates, a friend from the emirate of Sharjah raised Senator Hillary Clinton’s proposal to extend a US “nuclear shield” over allies in the Gulf. “A shield?” he exclaimed. “To protect us against whom, the Iranians or the Americans?” I heard the same sentiment a few days later in Dubai, at the preview for a bustling auction of Iranian art.

These comments, and many others, highlight the swiftly growing gap between the way the Arab Gulf states view their relationship with Iran, and the way the US believes – or wants to believe – they see their neighbour to the north. The US seeks to defend the Arabs from Iran, but they are increasingly trying to defend themselves from US efforts to defend them against Iran. It is hard to imagine how this might turn out well.