Tehran has secretly warned US allies in the Middle East of the consequences if their territories or airspace are used to attack Iran. These threats prompted wealthy Arab states to tell the US they would not participate in the attack.

Israel has threatened Tehran with severe retaliation after Iran fired about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this month, and some Israeli officials and analysts are calling for devastating strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities or oil infrastructure.

In that case, Iran warned through secret channels that it would respond with devastating attacks on Israeli civilian infrastructure and retaliate against any Arab state that facilitated the attack, Arab officials said in a Wall Street Journal report.

Arab officials, according to the WSJ, said countries Iran has targeted through diplomatic channels include Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar — all countries that host US troops.

Those countries have informed the Biden administration that they do not want their military infrastructure or airspace to be used by the US or Israel for any offensive operations against Iran, the officials said.

The growing conflict in the Middle East is testing the alliance between Israel and Arab states that oppose Iran's military posture in the region.

The US is the backbone of this alliance and hopes that in the future it can create a kind of Middle Eastern NATO aimed at confronting Iran. Arab states, including Jordan, helped shoot down Iranian missiles fired at Israel in April, but supporting a direct Israeli attack on Iran may be a step too far.

US defense officials have acknowledged that some regional partners have informed the Pentagon that they do not want Israeli warplanes to fly over their territories or for US forces to launch offensive operations from or over their airspace. Arab countries have said that US forces will only be allowed to conduct self-defense operations.

The Arab countries' requests are so far informal, a US defense official said. Since the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began last year, Arab countries have repeatedly added and lifted restrictions on US operations, defense officials say. But these countries are now much more determined in their demands because the war has spread to conflicts between Israel and Iran.

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against expected Israeli military retaliation against Iran on Wednesday in their first conversation since August 21. US officials said they did not yet have information on the timing of the attack or what targets Israel might have targeted. Israel's security cabinet is meeting today and members will be briefed on options for responding to an Iranian attack, an Israeli official said.

Israel likely has other routes to send warplanes to attack Iran, including over Syria, where its air force has freedom of movement, and Iraq, where air defenses are no match for Israel's Stealth technology.

However, any restrictions on the movement of the US military in the region could make it difficult to protect or supply its resources, such as aircraft carriers operating in the Red Sea.

Earlier this month, Iran's mission to the United Nations warned publicly that any country providing assistance to an Israeli attack would also be considered an accomplice and a legitimate target, but gave no further details.

These threatening messages underscore the dangers for the US if the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals out of control. US officials have said they are strengthening their military presence in the region, including increasing the number of warplanes stationed in the Middle East and keeping the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group in the region.