Ruto urges global action as Middle East conflict spreads across Gulf states
By Mustafa Juma, March 2, 2026President William Ruto has strongly condemned the widening wave of strikes across the Middle East, warning that the growing regionalisation of the conflict poses a grave threat to international peace and security.
Taking to his official social media accounts on Monday, March 2, 2026, Ruto denounced attacks targeting several Gulf and regional states, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain.
“Kenya strongly condemns the strikes on the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain in the evolving conflict in the Middle East. It is evident that the regionalisation of this conflict poses a grave threat to international peace and security,” Ruto stated.
Call for multilateral engagement
Ruto emphasised the importance of established international institutions in navigating the crisis, arguing that longstanding multilateral frameworks remain indispensable in resolving escalating tensions.
“At this defining and perilous moment in global history, longstanding multilateral institutions remain indispensable frameworks for the resolution of the current crisis in the Middle East,” the statement read.
Kenya called for urgent multi-stakeholder engagement aimed at de-escalation, urging global powers and regional actors to prioritise diplomacy over further military confrontation.
“Kenya calls for urgent multi-stakeholder engagement towards de-escalation,” Ruto added.
Iran’s retaliation attacks
More explosions have been heard across the Gulf states, and at least three people have been killed in the United Arab Emirates as Iran carries out attacks in retaliation for strikes by the United States and Israel that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top officials.
The explosions were heard for a second day on Sunday, March 1, 2026, in Dubai, the UAE; Bahrain’s capital, Manama; and Qatar’s capital, Doha, raising fears of a wider conflict in a region long seen as a haven of peace and security in an otherwise turbulent Middle East.
Later in the day, the Oman News Agency reported that the Duqm commercial port, located in the Al Wusta Governorate in central Oman, was struck by two drones. It reported that an expatriate worker was injured in the attack.
The explosions came after a day of similar Iranian strikes on bases used by the US military and other US assets across the Gulf.
Thousands of US soldiers are deployed in the oil- and gas-rich Arab states lying just across the Gulf from Iran.
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, Iran fired 137 missiles and 209 drones across the UAE.