As the threat of further regional escalation looms, diplomats are weighing whether an ambitious eight-nation security pact could finally bring stability to the turbulent Gulf. According to Al Jazeera, proposing a non-aggression pact amid ongoing hostilities may seem premature, yet agreements to stop war matter most when distrust is deepest.

In a recent lecture at Cambridge University in the UK, Oman’s Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, called for a non-aggression pact encompassing all eight Gulf littoral states, as reported by Al Jazeera. This proposed group includes the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council along with Iraq and Iran, which Albusaidi described as an essential prerequisite for an inclusive regional security architecture.

Al Jazeera noted that the ongoing conflict has proved difficult to resolve because regional security arrangements have remained underdeveloped, relying for too long on external powers. Albusaidi conceded that such a pact would be hard to achieve, but emphasised the urgent need for a diplomatic path forward.

Background

According to Al Jazeera, the Omani proposal is anchored in a historic precedent from November 1976, when the foreign ministers of all eight Gulf littoral states met in Muscat to pursue collective security following Britain’s withdrawal from the region. That occasion remains the only time all eight have sat at one table.

Subsequent events—including the Iranian Revolution, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iran–Iraq war—pushed the region toward defensive arrangements that later hardened into exclusion, with Iran frequently viewed as a threat. However, because Iran holds roughly half the Gulf coastline, any security architecture without it remains structurally unsound, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The idea of a regional security arrangement was revived in May 2019, when then Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif proposed a regional non-aggression pact during a visit to Baghdad, an initiative endorsed by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Later that September, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani launched the Hormuz Peace Endeavour at the UN General Assembly, envisioning a non-aggression pact among Hormuz states. Gulf reactions at the time were largely dismissive due to Iranian support for armed groups.

More recently, the Financial Times reported in May that Saudi Arabia was discussing a non-aggression framework with Iran, bringing renewed attention to the concept.

Why it matters

For ordinary readers in Pakistan, developments in the Gulf carry profound significance given geographic proximity, deep economic ties, and the millions of Pakistani expatriates living and working in the region. Stability or conflict in the Gulf directly impacts regional trade, energy supplies, and the economic well-being of households connected to overseas remittances.