By Staff, Agencies

The United States is behaving like a "mafia boss" in the Middle East, pressuring regional countries to comply with its demands or risk military aggression, Miko Peled, founder and director of the Palestine House of Freedom, said Friday.

Speaking during an RT panel discussion on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks blaming Iran for regional instability, Peled said Gulf states fear defying Washington could leave their countries in ruins, citing US military interventions in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen.

"The US operates like a mafia boss," Peled said, arguing that Gulf countries cooperate with Washington not out of trust but out of concern for their survival.

Meanwhile, Tehran University Professor Seyed Mohammed Marandi identified the occupation entity as the main source of regional instability, citing Palestinian displacement and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

He also accused Washington of contributing to the destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan and supporting the war in Syria.

Lebanese Army Military Academy Professor Naim Joseph Salem warned that Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, could regret hosting US military bases if the US-"Israel" war against Iran escalates further.