Gulf security 'inseparable' from stability of Middle East, says Egypt's Foreign Minister

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned that any threat to Gulf security would reverberate across the wider Middle East, calling for a shift from crisis management to building a regional order capable of preventing conflict.

Mr Abdelatty spoke at the IISS Manama Dialogue annual security forum in Bahrain, where he stressed that instability in the region could have consequences worldwide.

“It has become quite clear that security of the Gulf is inseparable from the security of the Middle East," he said. "Any harm to the security of our region threatens the security and stability throughout the whole world," he added.

All six Gulf states came under repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks this year after the war erupted in late February, when the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran. Tehran retaliated by targeting countries hosting US military assets, as well as energy infrastructure and other strategic sites across the region.

Now, the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen are opening another front, renewing attacks on Saudi Arabia and threatening to widen the conflict further. The militant group, which has fought a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen since 2015, has also threatened shipping through the Red Sea, raising concerns over the security of vital trade routes and energy supplies.

While direct US-Iran military confrontation has eased at times, fears are growing that hostilities could resume, potentially after the US midterm elections on November 3.

An interim agreement reached in June failed to secure a lasting ceasefire in the war or restore normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

More dangerous

Mr Abdelatty said ⁠ he ​was "extremely worried" that a new escalation in ⁠the war between the US and Iran would be more destructive and have ⁠a major impact. "The second ​round will be more dangerous, more destructive, and it will lead nowhere. We have to draw lessons from the past," he elaborated.

He highlighted the importance of maritime security, saying that disruptions to navigation in the region could affect global energy and food security, financial markets, supply chains and international trade.

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“These passages are not merely lines on a map. They are arteries of the global economy,” said Mr Abdelatty.

He called for a broader approach to regional stability, urging countries to move beyond responding to individual threats and addressing crises as they emerge. “The time has come to move from the logic of crisis management to the logic of building an order, from responding to a threat to being able to prevent it before it erupts."

Encouraging dialogue

Speaking on the same panel at the conference, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji said Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman's visit to Tehran earlier this week aimed to ease regional tensions, encourage dialogue and diplomatic solutions, and support mediation efforts by Qatar and Pakistan.

Regional sources briefed on the Tehran talks said they made no clear headway but that the parties agreed to continue talking. Representatives of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey asked the Iranians to urge the Houthis to halt their attacks on the kingdom. Iran, the sources said, responded by pushing for a regional truce.

On Saudi Arabia's relationship with Washington, Mr Elkhereiji described the US as a "major partner" of the kingdom.

Washington has provided Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting assistance, including through US military advisers, to support its campaign against the Houthis. However, it has stopped short of taking part in direct military strikes against the group.