Oman says Persian Gulf security framework cannot exclude Iran
Oman says Persian Gulf security framework cannot exclude Iran
M.U.H
27/10/202611
London: Oman’s foreign minister has called for an inclusive regional security framework involving Iran, Iraq and the six [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council members, arguing that arrangements excluding Tehran are inherently unstable and cannot ensure lasting security.
Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi made the remarks in a speech entitled Inclusive Security in the Persian Gulf at the University of Cambridge on Monday, criticizing foreign powers for portraying Iran as a threat around which regional security should be organized.
He said the region’s security arrangements had been built on the mistaken assumption of fundamental hostility between Iran and Arab states of the Persian Gulf, despite centuries of peaceful coexistence. With a population of 93 million, a 3,000-year history and roughly half the Persian Gulf’s coastline, Iran could not be excluded from any viable regional framework, he added.
Al Busaidi also criticized decades of reliance on foreign military powers, citing US military agreements, intelligence cooperation, naval deployments and air defense systems. Although these arrangements had produced some benefits, their long-term political costs had been substantial, he said.
He identified the Iranian nuclear issue and negotiations over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as examples of regional problems complicated by external involvement. Oman facilitated five rounds of indirect Iran-US talks in April and May 2025 and three more in February 2026. Al Busaidi said significant progress had been made and an agreement had appeared achievable before the US and Israeli military aggression against Iran.
He also reported progress in discussions between Oman and Iran on a preliminary framework for an interim agreement on maritime security, although political obstacles remained.
Al Busaidi proposed reviving a 1976 initiative for collective security among the eight Persian Gulf littoral states, calling for a non-aggression pact as a foundation for inclusive regional arrangements.
He stressed that cooperation with foreign partners need not end, but their role should shift from military commitments toward investment and economic development. Persian Gulf countries, he said, must assume primary responsibility for their own security rather than depend on outside powers.
