World · Middle East · 2 hrs ago
Oman urges Gulf states and Iran to agree on a security pact
Oman’s foreign minister, Badr Al Busaidi, has called for a security pact linking Iran and Gulf states.
He made the proposal during a diplomatic visit to the UK, including a speech at Cambridge University.
The pact would bring regional countries into a shared approach to security, rather than leaving arrangements to outside powers.
Al Busaidi has said that excluding Iran makes the region’s security system unstable, while tensions and conflict have put security and economic interests at risk.
He wants the US to shift from a mainly military role toward economic partnership in the Gulf and Iran.
Oman is calling for an inclusive regional process, though it is not involved in the current US-Iran ceasefire negotiations, which are led by Pakistan and Qatar.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi has called for an inclusive security pact involving Iran and Gulf countries.
He said regional states should take responsibility for their own security rather than rely on external powers.
Al Busaidi argued that a Gulf security framework excluding Iran would be unstable.
He also said the United States and other partners could continue to contribute through economic cooperation instead of a primarily military role.
The reports differ on the proposed membership: The National says the pact would include Yemen, while Middle East Eye names Iraq and Iran alongside the six Gulf countries.
- Who
- Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi proposed the pact.
- What
- He called for an inclusive regional security pact involving Iran and Gulf countries. The National also says it would include Iraq and Yemen.
- When
- He made the proposal on Monday and discussed it again on Wednesday.
- Where
- At the University of Cambridge in the UK, and later in an interview with BBC Radio 4.
- Why
- He said regional states should take responsibility for their own security and that excluding Iran would make the security framework unstable.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Al Busaidi proposed an inclusive regional security pact during a lecture at the University of Cambridge.
During a BBC Radio 4 interview, he reiterated the call and said the United States could remain involved through economic cooperation.
- Proposer
- Badr Al Busaidi, Oman's foreign minister
- Proposal venue
- University of Cambridge, UK
- The National's proposed members
- Iran, Iraq and Yemen, alongside Arab Gulf states
- Middle East Eye's proposed members
- The six Gulf countries, Iraq and Iran
- Past precedent cited
- A meeting of foreign ministers from eight Gulf countries in Muscat in November 1976
3 sources
What people are saying
The idea of a Gulf security architecture that doesn't include Iran is inherently unstable, structurally unsound
That is why in my talk today I am making a call for us in the Gulf to step up and take responsibility for our own security, and for us to do so inclusively.
It is time for a change of emphasis, a transition from the military only to the more lucrative economic sphere for all of us