In a united front, Qatar and the UAE outlined their vision for the Gulf region’s security, saying in separate addresses that countries in the region must now find their own way to deal with Iran and reshape interactions across all areas, as the war continues to have significant consequences.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Dr Majed Al Ansari has called on Gulf countries to strengthen their defences, saying they cannot rely on the United States alone for their security.
“We need to realise in the Gulf that having international forces in the region, having a strategic alliance with the US is very important, but is not enough,” Al Ansari told the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
“Self-sufficiency when it comes to security is the only way forward,” he added. “Yes, we need our partners. Yes, we need our allies. But we cannot depend on them alone for our security.”
Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East. Tehran insisted that its prolonged attacks in the first phase of the war were directed at US interests, a claim Qatar has vigorously denied all along, insisting that Iran’s attacks hit civilian and economic targets on its own territory.
‘Trust is the mountain we will have to climb’
The UAE’s presidential diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash told the forum that the region will need to find ways to rebuild relations with Iran as “geography leaves us no alternative to engagement,” and that those relations will need to be judged by actions and not words to rebuild any shattered trust.
“Trust is the mountain we will have to climb,” Gargash said.
“We must distinguish clearly between rebuilding a necessary and functional relationship with Iran and rebuilding the trust that has been broken. The first is necessary. The second will be far more difficult,” the UAE official added.
The UAE president’s adviser underlined that Tehran’s decision to attack the UAE and the Gulf countries “that had not attacked it” was “not a decision taken in 24 or 48 hours, nor was it an impulsive reaction. It was a premeditated war of choice waged against its neighbors in direct violation of international law.”
The UAE has maintained throughout the war that the Gulf countries must have worked together in a stronger and more united manner to confront Iran’s attacks and the impact of the war.
Agreeing with his Qatari counterpart, Gargash said the partnership with Washington remained essential, but the war had shown why Gulf countries needed to do more to protect themselves and that the region needed firm guarantees that Iran would not attack its neighbours again.
“Our security is our first priority. When we depend entirely on others, we cannot always assume it will be their priority,” he said.
Qatar and UAE on the same page about Hormuz
The UAE president’s diplomatic advisor underlined the country’s firm position that it would not accept a single state’s control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and that it was unacceptable for oil tankers to be threatened and attacked while attempting to transit the key waterway.
“Our energy exports will not be held hostage, nor will our trade and economic activity,” Gargash said.
In agreement with Qatar, the UAE official said navigation in Hormuz “cannot be subject to coercion.”
Gargash said the UAE is expanding ports on its eastern coast and developing pipelines, railways, and other routes for its exports through alternative routes, as its economy “cannot be held hostage”.
“Freedom of navigation is not a concession to be granted, nor a principle to be renegotiated under pressure,” he said.
Qatar’s Al Ansari said “the security of the Gulf is inseparable from global energy security, trade and maritime navigation,” echoing his UAE counterpart.
Al Ansari also insisted on “the importance of strengthening the Gulf Cooperation Council and building a more resilient regional security architecture grounded in collective security, diplomacy and deeper economic interdependence.”