Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, held talks with Saudi Arabian diplomat, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in Riyadh last Wednesday addressing escalating concerns in the region. He put forward a strong warning to Arabian Gulf nations not to grant access to their airspace or military installations for Israeli action against Iran.
A high ranking Iranian officer underlined that if any Gulf State works against Tehran, either through airspace access or military site usage, it will be interpreted as an act by the entire collective, with Tehran reacting to it as such. He went on to stress that Araqchi put forward the principle of regional unity and the significance of maintaining a stable security environment. The United States has established presence in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Mr Araqchi was slated to head next to Doha in Qatar and numerous other regional capitals to secure their impartial position should Israel pursue an attack on Iran subsequent to Iran’s October 1st missile attack on Israel.
Tehran asserted that this military action was a reaction to the killing of Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran during July, and Iranian Revolutionary Corps general, Abbas Nilforoushan, in Lebanon in September by Israel.
While most of Iran’s missiles were intercepted, Israel pledged for a strong reprisal to the assault. US President, Joe Biden, has requested Israel not to target Iranian nuclear plants or oil sector.
Joe Biden’s attempt to discourage an Israeli attack on Iran’s oil fields might have stimulated Iran to adopt a diplomatic approach – over an immediate threat of attack – in persuading its Gulf neighbours to remain neutral.
Furthermore, Tehran declared that if there is a halt to Iranian oil exports, the passage of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route utilised by Gulf oil-producers to deliver exports globally, won’t be sanctioned.
Ali Afoneh, a distinguished scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute located in Washington, conveyed to Middle East Eye in the UK his theory that reassurances to Iran regarding the safety of their oil facilities could be the root cause of a shift in their actions. He further speculated that if Iran is indeed feeling less threatened, this might be an outcome of pressure exerted by the United States on Israel or perhaps due to Arab influence.
In the previous week, a visit by Mr Araqchi to both Beirut and Damascus culminated in him advocating for co-occurring truces in the Gaza and Lebanon areas. His travels also included a landmark initial discussion with six members of the Gulf Co-operation Council, coordinated in tandem with an Asian conference that took place in Qatar. The main agenda of this gathering was to concentrate on reducing tensions regionally.
A significant portion of Iran’s population identifies as Shia Muslims, in contrast to Saudi Arabia’s Sunni majority. After a hiatus spanning seven years, diplomatic interactions between the two countries recommenced as of March 2023. In the time preceding the Gaza war, the US government under Biden was exerting pressure on Saudi Arabia to establish normalized bilateral ties with Israel. However, Saudi crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, negated such a possibility last month until a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is recognised.