One of four Iranian naval vessels docked at Port Khalid in Sharjah during the first naval visit to the UAE, 3 February 2025. Photo: Emirates News Agency, WAM.

Insight-316-GCC-Iran Rapprochement-Clemens-final Download

Insights Paper 316 by Clemens Chay

Executive Summary:

GCC-Iran relations have followed a steady trend of détente for several years owing to economic motivations, the need for regional stability to pursue economic agendas and, for the Gulf Arabs, the perceived US unreliability in providing for regional security. Such pragmatism, however, has been tested by events since 7 October 2023, notably the Iran-Israel confrontation, and, now, a second Trump term. With the regional rapprochement, the Gulf Arabs would prefer to do away with Trump’s intervening hand – of maximum pressure 2.0 on Iran – and instead move to act as intermediaries in dialling down regional tensions.