Oman's foreign minister proposes a Gulf security pact that includes Iran

Oman's Foreign Minister, Badr Al Busaidi, has proposed a regional agreement that would bring the Arab Gulf states and Iran together on security and economic cooperation. He set out the idea during a visit to the United Kingdom this week.

He first raised the proposal on Monday in a lecture at the University of Cambridge. He returned to it on Wednesday in an interview with BBC Radio 4. According to The National, the pact would also include Iraq and Yemen.

"The idea of a Gulf security architecture that doesn't include Iran is inherently unstable, structurally unsound," Mr Al Busaidi told the BBC. "I want to see peace in the Gulf," he added.

In Cambridge, he said the region's security arrangements were not developed enough because they had depended for too long on outside powers. He argued that this made issues such as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz much harder to resolve. Around a fifth of the world's oil normally passes through that waterway.

On Wednesday, he said the plan did not mean pushing the United States out of the region. Instead, he suggested Washington and other partners could shift their focus from military matters towards investment. "It is time for a change of emphasis, a transition from the military only to the more lucrative economic sphere for all of us," he said.

Mr Al Busaidi said there was a precedent. In November 1976, foreign ministers from the eight Gulf countries met in Muscat to explore a similar framework. He said later events, including the Iran-Iraq war, set that effort aside, but those obstacles were "no longer there".

Oman has long been known as a quiet go-between in the region. It has maintained working relations with Tehran and has often helped Western governments open channels of dialogue. The National reports, however, that Muscat is not part of the current ceasefire talks between the US and Iran, which are being led by Pakistan and Qatar.

The proposal comes during a busy week of regional diplomacy. Al Jazeera reports that senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, the members of the so-called Mecca defence alliance, have been meeting Iranian leaders in Tehran in an effort to ease tensions.

For residents and businesses across the Gulf, these talks matter for practical reasons. Shipping routes, energy supplies, flights and investment all depend on stability around the Strait of Hormuz. Mr Al Busaidi said he wants a fully inclusive process involving every country in the region. Other Gulf capitals have not yet publicly responded to his proposal.