JAKARTA \u2014 Oman is pushing for a peace pact involving eight countries\nin the Gulf region, including Iran, as part of efforts to end prolonged\ntensions in the Middle East. Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the US\ngovernment understood the direction of change being pursued by countries\nin the region, although Washington and Tehran still face fundamental\ndifferences in negotiations to end the conflict.<\/p>\n
The proposal has emerged as several Middle Eastern countries explore\na series of diplomatic agreements to prevent a renewed war between the\nUnited States and Iran. Discussions cover reopening the Strait of\nHormuz, easing sanctions on Tehran, resolving the conflict in Yemen, and\nestablishing a regional security framework that no longer excludes\nIran.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Guardian published on Wednesday (28 October\n2026), Albusaidi said he believed that bringing Iran back into peaceful\nrelations with its neighbours could unlock significant economic\nopportunities, including for the United States.<\/p>\n
He said this prospect had been part of lengthy discussions during\nOman\u2019s mediation of talks between Washington and Tehran. Albusaidi\nbelieves there is a general understanding of the direction regional\nrelations would take if the two countries reach an agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there is a general acceptance that this will be the\ndirection we take once we reach an agreement,\u201d Albusaidi told The\nGuardian.<\/p>\n
The statement is significant because Oman has long acted as an\nintermediary in communications between the United States and Iran.\nMuscat maintains diplomatic relations with both sides and was involved\nin talks before the war broke out in February 2026.<\/p>\n
Albusaidi\u2019s confidence, however, should not be taken as confirmation\nthat President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has approved a regional\nsecurity pact involving Iran. As of Wednesday, Washington had made no\nofficial announcement endorsing the proposed eight-country pact.<\/p>\n
Oman\u2019s proposal is also not an agreement signed by all the\nparticipating countries. It remains a diplomatic agenda requiring\npolitical approval and the resolution of various security disputes.<\/p>\n
Eight Gulf states, including Iran and Iraq<\/p>\n
The plan outlined by Albusaidi includes the six members of the Gulf\nCooperation Council (GCC): Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,\nQatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. The two other proposed participants are\nIran and Iraq.<\/p>\n
All eight countries have direct interests in Gulf security, including\nmaritime safety, energy infrastructure, trade relations and preventing\ncross-border conflict.<\/p>\n
In a speech entitled \u201cInclusive Security in the Gulf\u201d at Girton\nCollege, University of Cambridge, in England, on Monday (26 October\n2026), Albusaidi said any regional security architecture that excluded\nIran was inherently unstable.<\/p>\n
He argued that for nearly half a century Iran had too often been cast\nas the principal threat underpinning the formation of the regional\nsecurity system. In his view, this approach had hindered the creation of\na co-operation mechanism involving all countries in the region.<\/p>\n
Albusaidi also criticised Gulf states\u2019 reliance on foreign powers to\nresolve security issues. He said defence ties with countries outside the\nregion had brought benefits in the past, but had not always resolved\ndisputes that continued to develop.<\/p>\n
In his view, Gulf states must take primary responsibility for their\nown security rather than leave external powers to determine the region\u2019s\nsecurity structure.<\/p>\n
The proposal does not mean Oman wants to end all co-operation with\nthe United States or Western countries. Albusaidi explicitly said ties\nwith international partners remained necessary, while expressing hope\nthat their role would shift increasingly towards economic co-operation\nand investment.<\/p>\n
He proposed that the region\u2019s relations with outside powers should\nnot be dominated indefinitely by military commitments. Instead,\nstability built through regional agreements should create a more open\nenvironment for trade and economic development.<\/p>\n
This approach reflects an important distinction between reducing\nsecurity dependence and ending all defence ties. Oman has not announced\nany decision to withdraw from its existing military co-operation with\nother countries.<\/p>\n
Reviving an idea that failed in 1976<\/p>\n
Albusaidi linked his proposal to a diplomatic meeting held almost 50\nyears ago.<\/p>\n
In November 1976, the foreign ministers of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq,\nKuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates met in\nMuscat. The meeting aimed to explore the creation of collective security\narrangements for the entire Gulf region.<\/p>\n
According to Albusaidi, it was the only occasion on which all eight\ncountries sat together to discuss an inclusive regional security\nframework.<\/p>\n
Subsequent geopolitical changes, however, hindered the idea\u2019s\nprogress. The Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Soviet Union\u2019s invasion of\nAfghanistan in the same year, and the Iran-Iraq war throughout the 1980s\nreshaped the balance of power in the region.<\/p>\n
In those circumstances, Gulf states strengthened security\nco-operation with the United States and other Western partners.<\/p>\n
The United States subsequently expanded its military involvement in\nthe region through defence agreements, troop deployments, intelligence\nco-operation and military facilities. The US Central Command (CENTCOM)\nwas established in 1983, while the US Navy\u2019s Fifth Fleet was reactivated\nand based in Bahrain in 1995.<\/p>\n
The Gulf Cooperation Council, established in 1981, succeeded in\ndeveloping economic and political ties among six Arab states. Iran and\nIraq, however, were not members.<\/p>\n
Albusaidi acknowledged that the GCC had brought significant benefits,\nparticularly in economic co-operation. But he argued that the separation\nof GCC countries from Iran and Iraq had made it difficult to establish\nsecurity arrangements that genuinely covered the whole region.<\/p>\n
Through its latest proposal, Oman wants to revive the idea discussed\nin 1976, with a non-aggression pact serving as an initial step towards\nbuilding trust between countries.<\/p>\n
Such a pact could provide a basis for discussing a range of security\nissues, but no final draft has been published and none of the eight\ncountries has formally approved it.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/omans-foreign-minister-gulf-security-cannot-be-stable-without-iran-1793184840", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }