Why should the Arab Gulf states be involved in any regional negotiations?
reFollowing President Trump’s announcement on April 8 of a 15-day ceasefire between the warring parties, during which negotiations to reach an agreement with Iran would begin, U.S. President Donald Trump viewed this as a suitable basis for negotiating with Iran. This raises the question of the necessity of involving the Arab Gulf states in those negotiations, a demand that was emphasized by His Excellency Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, in a previous statement, when he called for “the necessity of involving the Gulf states in any talks or agreements aimed at resolving the current crisis,” warning that “any regional frameworks, initiatives, or arrangements intended to redraw the map of the Middle East following this crisis are categorically rejected.” Al-Badawi’s remarks reaffirmed a Gulf demand that has persisted throughout the negotiations held between the United States and Iran during all phases of tension between the two sides, and is based on three principles.
First: The issues that will be at the center of the anticipated U.S.-Iran negotiations in Pakistan on April 11, 2026, constitute the core of the future security of the Arabian Gulf from a strategic perspective. The nuclear dossier, missile programs, the security of the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran’s regional policies—all of these are issues that concern not only Iran and the United States but also form the foundation of the Arabian Gulf’s security; failure to resolve any of them means keeping the Gulf region in a state of chronic instability. In other words, complacency toward Iran on any of the aforementioned issues perpetuates the imbalance in the regional balance of power, which has been the Gulf’s security dilemma since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 to the present.
Second: Despite the policy of neutrality adopted by the Arab Gulf states during crises, they have been attacked by Iran, whether during the Iran-Iraq War or during the conflict prior to the declaration of the temporary ceasefire. This means that the proposed agreement must not concern only the two direct parties; rather, it must include guarantees that Iran will not attack any of the six GCC states, as this is a fundamental requirement for any future relations between the GCC states and Iran.
Third: The goal of the negotiations and the agreement should not be merely to end the war definitively after the fifteen-day deadline, but rather to establish sustainable foundations for security. This will not be achieved through an agreement between a regional party and a global one; rather, it must include the Arab Gulf states.
It may be premature to discuss the overall regional security arrangements and their trajectories in the Arabian Gulf region; however, the facts that must be reemphasized are that the Arab Gulf states—through their economic capabilities, their active role in ensuring global energy security, and their role as mediators in numerous conflicts —are the cornerstone of the regional security equation and a reliable partner for international powers. This was reflected in the UN vote on Resolution 2817, which was submitted by the Kingdom of Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Jordan, received the support of 136 countries, and included a condemnation of Iranian attacks on Gulf states. On the other hand, the clarity of the frameworks for addressing regional security threats, particularly freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, constitutes a practical application of the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, at a time when there is much debate regarding the application of international law and the importance of the United Nations to international peace and security. Thirdly, addressing these threats supports regional security itself, to which the UN Charter dedicates Chapter VIII in its entirety and urges states to engage in regional cooperation.
The war, with the unprecedented security and economic consequences and challenges it has brought upon the Arab Gulf states, requires that any agreement be comprehensive of the interests of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states. This means ending the crises in the region rather than merely managing them, especially given that these crises are depleting the region’s resources and achievements. The Arab Gulf states recognize that the region is a crossroads of international interests and will remain a focus of attention for many nations; they also recognize the immutable factors of geography. However, when considering other regions of the world where neighboring states differ in their orientations and even their capabilities, and that disparity has not been a source of chronic threat to neighbors, as has been the case with Iran since 1979 to the present, confidence-building measures have become the foundation of relations in many regions of the world. These include respect for the sovereignty and independence of states, non-interference in their internal affairs, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts—the very foundations upon which the United Nations was established.
The Kingdom of Bahrain, with the support of a number of countries in the region and around the world, sought to establish a permanent international framework to ensure international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz through a draft resolution it submitted regarding freedom of navigation in the Strait; however, the Security Council was unable to adopt it on April 7, 2026, due to the Russian-Chinese veto against the draft resolution. Had the resolution been adopted, it would have been a crucial step toward achieving sustainable security in the Arabian Gulf region in the areas of maritime security and beyond, in addition to reinforcing the principle of the application of international law, as noted by His Excellency Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, who stated: “The draft resolution represents a coordinated and law-based response aimed at providing the clarity and coordination necessary to address Iran’s violations of international law and its threats to maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
I need not reiterate that all the regional crises the region has witnessed have unequivocally confirmed that “global security begins and ends in the Gulf.” and therefore, either there must be a comprehensive and lasting vision to eliminate the causes of threats to regional security, or the world will face similar—if not more severe—threats in the future, if the goal is merely a ceasefire without real guarantees that compel Iran to respect the security of the Arab Gulf states, should it truly desire good-neighborly relations.
Note: This article has been automatically translated, the full article is available in Arabic.
Dr. Ashraf Mohammed Keshk, Director of International and Strategic Studies Program
