From the front lines of the US-Iran confrontation, the Gulf nations have again urged both sides, with strategic restraint, not to abandon their negotiations, while Tehran is telegraphing that the Strait of Hormuz is now Iran's.
The Gulf countries are bracing for a rapidly deteriorating security situation following the new military escalations over the last 24 hours, after the US and Iran exchanged fire and Tehran attacked Kuwait and Bahrain and issued fiery warnings, culminating with US President Donald Trump’s stark announcement at the NATO summit in Ankara that he thinks the US-Iran ceasefire is "over".
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The Gulf has once again issued rapid-fire statements condemning Iran for the latest escalations, but with a reasoned approach that should leave the door open to the difficult diplomatic path ahead.
The new round of US-Iran negotiations, as part of the framework deal to end the war, was scheduled for Thursday, and the Gulf nations’ unified approach to the latest flare-up of military and political clashes indicates that, for them, a return to war is out of the question.
In his statement, the US president said he will allow for the talks to continue, that the negotiators want to negotiate, “but they have to come back to me,” and that “it is just a waste of time dealing” with the Iranians.
Qatar, whose role as one of two main mediators has been decisive for the US-Iran negotiations, expressed its alarm over Tehran striking Qatari tanker Al Rekayyat alongside a Saudi tanker on Tuesday and then attacking Kuwait and Bahrain after the US launched overnight airstrikes on Iran following the IRGC’s military actions in Hormuz.
Qatar also summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador to Doha on Tuesday to deliver a protest note stating that “the attack amounts to a grave violation of the safety of international navigation, a direct threat to global energy supply security, and a clear and flagrant breach of international law."
“The note demanded that the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately cease any practices that compromise the security of the region and refrain from endangering international shipping and global energy supplies,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
"The State of Qatar reserved all of its rights under international law to take any measures it deemed appropriate to protect its interests and assets.”
Qatar also condemned “Iran’s repeated attacks” on Bahrain and Kuwait.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses the need to spare the region the consequences of unjustified attacks, to continue on the path of dialogue and diplomacy, to reduce escalation, and to build on the gains achieved within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding," it said.
On the Emirati side, Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic advisor to the UAE president, warned that Iran is not capable of “turning the page on war”.
"The Gulf Arab states cannot remain a target for Iran’s wavering between the logic of escalation and the path of rationality, stability and peace," Gargash said.
Oman, with whom Tehran has been constantly trying to impose a joint control mechanism in the Strait of Hormuz, condemned both the Iranian strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait and on the Saudi and Qatari vessels, saying the attacks threaten global trade and calling on all parties to return to diplomacy rather than escalating the crisis.
Kuwait condemned “heinous” Iranian aggressions against both Bahrain and Kuwait, while the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi declared that “the attacks confirm Iran’s continued approach aimed at undermining international and regional efforts to establish security and peace and resolve the crisis.”
Iranian affairs observer Hamidreza Azizi said that “by targeting a Saudi and a Qatari tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is trying to send a signal that neither the signing of the MoU with the US, nor its desire to improve relations with the Gulf Arab states should be interpreted as a green light for regional countries to move freely through the strait while disregarding Tehran's claim to control and manage the waterway.”
“Long-term strategic value of the Strait of Hormuz outweighs the potential economic benefits of an agreement with the United States or improved relations with the Gulf countries,” Azizi said.