GCC Countries Explore Regional Security Pact with Iran Amid Tensions
In a bid to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have stepped up diplomacy with Iran, with a meeting in Tehran on Monday between high-ranking officials from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan, along with Turkish diplomats. The talks aim to prevent a resumption of all-out war, following recent attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi fighters on Saudi airports, ports, and oil facilities.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi called for a regional security framework, including a "non-aggression pact" between GCC countries and Iran, with the United States no longer serving as the primary provider of security. However, questions remain over whether a regional agreement is possible, given the diverging views between the parties involved.
Analysts say that the current diplomatic efforts are unlikely to yield a lasting infrastructure, citing the lack of trust and fundamental disagreements between Tehran and Washington over the sequence of commitments. Hamidreza Azizi, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, noted that the main obstacle remains the disagreement over the nuclear issue, with the US seeking Iranian concessions and Tehran insisting on its conditions for ending the war.
The talks in Tehran mark the first high-level contact between Iran and the Mecca mutual defence pact nations since the US-Israel war on Iran began in February. While a draft deal was presented to Iran, reports suggest that Tehran has shown no flexibility on the nuclear issue, and that the gap between the parties is wide.
