Iran opens up to a new stage of cooperation in its relationship with Gulf countries
Iran is opening up to a new phase of cooperation in its relationship with Gulf countries, as indicated by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the IRNA news agency.
Masoud Pezeshkian said that the Islamic Republic is ready to take part in ‘comprehensive cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council and, through this process, open a new page in its relations in the region, given the urgent need to strengthen ties and develop cooperation between Islamic countries.’
This was stated by the Iranian president during a government meeting, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.
Pezeshkian affirmed Tehran's willingness to consolidate comprehensive relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and open a new chapter in its ties with neighbouring countries in the region.
This diplomatic shift by Iran comes after a large number of Arab and Gulf countries condemned the latest Israeli and US attacks against the Islamic Republic. This was stated by Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaisi, secretary general of the GCC, who described the Israeli attacks as ‘a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter’ and called on the international community and the United Nations Security Council to assume their responsibilities by immediately stopping these attacks and preventing an escalation of tension.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the President of the United Arab Emirates, also explained that the Gulf States strongly opposed the Israeli attacks on Iran, calling for a political negotiation process for regional peace and for the resumption of dialogue on the Iranian nuclear programme.
The Iranian nuclear programme is a highly relevant issue on which diplomacy continues to work to ensure that Persian nuclear development is for civilian use only and not for military purposes.
Since Donald Trump's first US administration abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2019, which controlled Iran's nuclear programme and was signed by the United States, Iran, Russia, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and the European Union, there has been no agreement to monitor Iran's nuclear work, due to suspicions about the possible development of nuclear weapons by the Ayatollah regime, something that has been denied by the latter. Work is continuing, even by Donald Trump's second administration, to resume this agreement and regulate Iran's atomic programme with the greatest guarantees.
On the other hand, the Islamic Republic has been seen by various sectors over the last few decades as a destabilising element in the Middle East due to its belligerent and interventionist stance in the internal affairs of other states in the region through allied Shiite groups, such as the Popular Mobilisation Forces in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has been absent from diplomatic efforts to bring peace to the region, such as the famous Abraham Accords, sponsored by the US administration of Donald Trump in September 2020, whereby several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco established diplomatic ties with Israel to pacify the Middle East and develop the area to its full potential with agreements of all kinds beneficial to the countries involved, in contrast to belligerent positions such as that of the Islamic Republic.
In fact, there was even talk of Saudi Arabia, a major representative of the Sunni branch of Islam opposed to the Shiite branch sponsored by Iran, joining the Abraham Accords and normalising relations with the Israeli state, which would have further isolated the Ayatollah regime on the international stage.
Now, with the new provision announced by President Masoud Pezeshkian, a new era of greater diplomatic rapprochement and collaboration between Iran and other Arab countries with which there have been strong differences, such as the Gulf States, may begin