Arabic version: تحولات في شراكات الأمن الخليجي خلال حرب إيران
According to Al Jazeera, six months of war with Iran are prompting Gulf states to reconsider how they organise security cooperation, with a greater focus on joint operational capability as well as defence agreements.
The conflict has exposed the vulnerability of cities, energy infrastructure, airports, ports and shipping lanes to missiles, drones and other disruption, the article said. The United States remains indispensable to Gulf security, but the previous model of US protection, bilateral ties and uneven GCC defence integration is no longer viewed as sufficient on its own.
A more layered system is taking shape, involving stronger cooperation among Gulf states and expanded ties with Turkiye, European countries and other partners. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement linking Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan was cited as a notable development. Its collective-defence language has drawn comparisons with NATO, although the article argued that the region is more likely to develop overlapping partnerships than a single alliance.
Such partnerships would require practical interoperability, including rapid information-sharing, military communications, coordinated decisions and clear authorisation procedures. Support in a crisis could range from intelligence and logistics to air defence, maritime protection or direct military action. Qatar’s joint Typhoon squadron with Britain and its combined military command structure with Turkiye were presented as examples of deeper cooperation. In March, an RAF Typhoon operating with the UK-Qatar squadron shot down an Iranian attack drone directed at Qatar.
The article said the Mecca agreement’s importance will depend on whether Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani forces build habits of cooperation through political and military coordination, exercises, air-defence work and defence-industrial ties. It concluded that the durability of the emerging security architecture will be tested by whether partners can identify threats, make decisions and respond together.
