A Gulf state leader's proposal for a security pact involving Iran signals a potential shift in regional alliances and a challenge to US dominance in Gulf security.

RE: https://aus.social/@oscarjiminy/117539085210426207 'for a Gulf state leader to call for a Gulf security pact that includes Iran, as Badr Albusaidi, Oman’s foreign minister, did this week, is a potential Berlin Wall moment. The implication is that the US should no longer be the security provider for the Gulf'

Some Middle Eastern powers are waking up to the threat to their sovereignty posed by a US system that consistently privileges Israel’s priorities. It is early days, but for a Gulf state leader to call for a Gulf security pact that includes Iran, as Badr Albusaidi, Oman’s foreign minister, did this week, is a potential Berlin Wall moment. The implication is that the US should no longer be the security provider for the Gulf. Iran is viewed with deep suspicion across the Gulf, and Albusaidi admits his proposal is counterintuitive. But, as his team says, “war sometimes just happens; peace is always caused”. Either way, at a time when people have lost faith in the problem-solving capacity of postwar institutions, it’s critical that those who believe in the efficacy of collective action and diplomacy show they mean it. After three years of havoc and war, they finally need to take back control from the demolition men. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/31/as-trump-fans-the-flames-of-a-world-on-fire-can-diplomacy-take-back-control?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other