Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi called for an inclusive regional security pact uniting the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, Iraq, and Iran at a Cambridge University address on Monday, arguing that decades of external reliance and treating Tehran as an automatic threat have blocked Middle Eastern stability.
Oman Criticizes the Gulf Security Model
Decades of relying on external military powers have left the Middle East unable to resolve its own crises, according to Oman’s foreign minister. Speaking at Girton College, Cambridge, the Omani diplomat argued that positioning Iran as the permanent regional threat has distorted local politics for half a century.
The Omani foreign minister pointed out that long-standing disputes, including shipping rights in the Strait of Hormuz, remain deadlocked precisely because outside nations dictate the terms of engagement while regional capitals fail to build a collective consensus.
The nuclear issue and the Hormuz issue are both impossible to resolve because external powers continue to define the terms of engagement, while regional powers are unable to take collective responsibility for making their own security arrangements and reach a consensus on them.
Oman Proposes an Eight-Nation Non-Aggression Pact
The sweeping diplomatic proposal aims to bring together eight neighboring nations under a single umbrella non-aggression security pact. This framework would encompass all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman—alongside Iraq and Iran.
By establishing a shared legal commitment to refrain from hostilities, regional governments could gradually lower tensions and manage critical waterways through direct dialogue. Proponents argue that an arrangement omitting Tehran is structurally flawed and bound to fail.
Any Gulf security architecture that doesn’t include [Iran] is inherently unstable. It’s structurally unsound.
Parliamentary Meeting Convenes in London
Following his Cambridge appearance, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi traveled to London where he addressed a meeting in the UK Parliament on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Hosted by the chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Emily Thornberry MP, and the Council for Arab-British Understanding, the session focused specifically on solving ongoing crises in the Middle East.
During the parliamentary gathering, the Omani foreign minister emphasized that an effective security framework must include the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, Iraq, and Iran, warning that excluding Tehran is inherently unstable. Emily Thornberry praised the bilateral relationship following a parliamentary delegation visit to Oman earlier that month and commended the Omani minister’s diplomatic efforts.
The parliamentary meeting followed the state visit of Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the UK, during which both nations struck agreements covering green energy, artificial intelligence, data centers, critical minerals, and space.
Delegations Meet in Tehran to Prevent Escalation
The Omani foreign policy initiative coincided with intense diplomatic maneuvers in the Iranian capital. High-ranking representatives from the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement nations—comprising Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye—alongside Qatari diplomats, met with high-ranking Iranian officials in Tehran to prevent an all-out military escalation.
These discussions mark the first high-level contacts between Tehran and the Mecca pact nations since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28. Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s top security official, stated that the talks demonstrated that US threats had minimal impact on regional diplomacy and signaled the beginning of a genuine transformation.
Historical Precedent Guides the New Initiative
Advocates for the pact suggest that regional cooperation is not entirely unprecedented. Omani officials noted that all eight countries gathered in Muscat in 1976 to attempt a similar collective security framework before subsequent geopolitical upheavals, including the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war, derailed the process.
The urgency behind finding an independent regional arrangement stems from mounting financial and security burdens.