Israel-Iran war: Gulf states scramble to secure diplomatic solution
Israel-Iran war
and return to regional stability as tensions rise.
Unanimous Gulf condemnation of Israel's attack on Iran has presaged a battle for self-preservation. The war could destroy decades of economic advancement achieved by the Gulf countries and destabilise the region.
Having cultivated relations with Iran for years, the six
Gulf Co-operation Council
states – the
United Arab Emirates
,
Saudi Arabia
, Oman,
Bahrain
,
Qatar
and Kuwait – are campaigning for an end to hostilities. They fear US intervention on Israel's side could prompt Iran to retaliate by striking
US
military bases in the Gulf, dangerously widening the conflict.
An Emirati analyst who has close ties to his government said the Gulf leaders 'may not support US intervention [by] allowing airspace access or the use of bases, but they can't prevent it'. Iran could retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 per cent of the world's oil flows, while Israel could bomb Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, located on the Gulf coast, which would release land, sea and air pollution.
READ MORE
Due to its ties to both Iran and Israel, the Emirates has taken the lead. President
Mohammed bin Zayed
told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that the Emirates has been engaged in 'intensive consultations with all concerned parties' to de-escalate the crisis. Bin Zayed has also contacted Russian president
Vladimir Putin
, who in turn has spoken to Pezeshkian, Israeli prime minister
Binyamin Netanyahu
and US president
Donald Trump
with the same objective.
Oman has been incensed over Israel's attack, which disrupted talks the sultanate had mediated between the US and Iran on limiting Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. The cancelled sixth round of talks was to take place last Sunday, 48 hours after Israel began bombing Iran. Tehran has said Iran will resume the talks once there is a ceasefire.
Having restored diplomatic ties with Iran in 2023 after six years of estrangement, Saudi Arabia has engaged with Tehran and Washington since 'day one', according to Saudi analyst Ali Shihabi. The best outcome would be a deal between Iran and the US, he said.
Crown prince and de facto Saudi ruler
Mohammed bin Salman
has discussed the situation with the Iranian and Emirati presidents. The prince fears war could disrupt his 2030 plan to develop the kingdom's economy and reduce its dependence on volatile oil revenues.
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Israel-Iran latest: Israeli minister says Khamenei 'can no longer be allowed to exist' after hospital strike
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]
Qatar – which has mediated between Hamas and Israel – has been 'engaging daily' with the US, its foreign ministry spokesman said.
Kuwait could be the Gulf country to suffer most from a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz as 90 per cent of its exports pass through the waterway. Its government fears spillover from the Israel-Iran war could extend far beyond the Gulf region.
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The Irish Sun
29 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
My girl, 10, is still traumatised by Hamas hostage hell… Starmer's insane plan to recognise Palestine EMBOLDENS thugs
SIR Keir Starmer's plan to recognise Palestine as a state is "insane", the father of hostage Emily Hand has blasted. Embattled father Thomas, who said he and his young daughter will forever be traumatised by October 7, warned it will only serve to "embolden" Hamas. 6 Thomas said daughter Emily is now 'doing amazing' after her ordeal Credit: Supplied 6 Emily was reunited with her dad after 50 days in captivity Credit: Reuters 6 The youngster was snatched by Hamas while on a sleepover at her friend's house He said they constantly now live in fear of a repeat of the atrocity - and warned Britain recognising Palestine as a state is a "carrot" and "reward" for the evil terror group. Brave Thomas told The Sun: "I am shocked. Previous governments have agreed that it would not be in the best interests of peace. "It's rewarding terrorist actions. It's absolutely insane." Sir Keir last week outlined the government's route to recognising Palestine as a state last week. The PM vowed the UK would act by the end of September - unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, allows humanitarian aid into Gaza, halts West Bank annexation plans, and commits to serious peace talks. But Donald Trump, political rivals of the Labour leader and the families of hostages are among the chorus of voices slapping down the move. Thomas, 65, added: "All the pressure is on Israel - you must do this or the UK will recognise a Palestinian state. "That's like a stick to us, but it's like a carrot to them. [They think] let's carry on with this war. "They were two days to a peace deal and then [they] came out with this statement and that peace deal went off the table. "It emboldens them. It reinforces them. It's a very shameful decision." Starmer vows UK will recognise Palestine in weeks unless Israel ends crisis – but critics blast 'reward' for Hamas Fighting back tears, Thomas insisted not enough is being done to bring back the remaining 50 hostages - 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. He believes Sir Keir's plan could throw their chances of rescue into jeopardy. And Thomas said he and daughter Emily - who spent 50 days in Hamas' clutches - fear Hamas could launch a similar attack to October 7. Emily, 10, and her dad are among countless innocents who have been left permanently scarred by the unspeakable horror they were put through that day. But despite the hell they suffered, Thomas believes his family were among the "lucky" ones. He said: "I had my eight-year-old daughter kidnapped for 50 days, the mother of my two older children murdered. We got away lightly. "One of my best friends - Leanne Sharabi - and her two teenage kids, executed. "They [Hamas] had too many hostages that day, so the orders went out to kill them. Don't take anymore back, just kill them. "There were whole families wiped out. "Crazy statements, but only losing my ex-wife and I thought I'd lost my daughter, I consider it lucky. Crazy statements." Will there be a peace deal? AS of August 2025, a lasting Israel-Hamas peace deal hangs in the balance. A January 19 ceasefire saw 25 Israeli hostages and 1,900 Palestinian prisoners freed, but collapsed by March 18 after Israeli airstrikes killed over 400 in Gaza. July's US-backed 60-day truce push aimed to free remaining hostages and spark permanent talks, but stalled in Cairo. Hamas demands a full Israeli withdrawal; Israel insists on Hamas disarming. With 90 Palestinians killed in recent strikes and both sides dug in—Israel on security, Hamas on ending the war—talks teeter. Mediators see glimmers of hope, but mistrust and clashing red lines keep peace elusive. Dublin-born Thomas - who grew up in London - travelled to Israel three decades ago to volunteer on a kibbutz near Gaza. He had two children with wife Narkis before they split and then had Emily with new partner Liat, who died of breast cancer when Emily was two. Narkis, 52, was killed on October 7 when 400 Hamas thugs rampaged through the Be'eri kibbutz. Emily was on a sleepover at a pal's home when she was snatched and Thomas survived by barricading himself inside a safe room for 19 hours. The youngster - who was rushed from house-to-house by Hamas fighters during gun battles with Israeli troops - turned nine while in Gaza before her release. She ran into her dad's open arms after 50 days in captivity traumatised and broken. Now 10-years-old, Thomas said Emily will forever be affected by her ordeal - and that he can no longer shield her from the inhumanity hostages are still suffering. Last week, warped Hamas released harrowing footage of two starved, pale and broken hostages - Evyatar David, 24, and Rom Braslavski, 21. 6 Thomas Hand has hit out at Sire Keir Starmer's proposal to recognise the Palestinian state Credit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun. 6 Israeli hostage Evyatar David looking weak and malnourished Credit: AFP 6 Rom Braslavski, 21, was seen in tears as he's held captive by Hamas terrorists "At first I obviously totally protected her from seeing stuff like that," Thomas said. "But more over time she wanted to see. She almost has to see. "Every child in the country knows what's going on. Some of them were involved in it. "Emily wants to see how our hostage are doing, surviving." After her release, Emily's weight had crashed, her clothes and hair were matted and filthy and she was unable to speak in more than a whisper. But Thomas told how Emily is now "doing amazing" and that they are doing everything they can to "bring her back to a normal childhood". He added: "She's having fun, surfing loads and horse riding. "She's put on her weight, she's out in the sun, she's getting tanned. She's doing childish, girly things again. "But she will always be that little bit more mature than all her friends the same age. "She's been through something no child, no human being, should ever be through." It comes as Israel said Friday it will intensify the 22-month war with Hamas by taking over Gaza City - renewing international calls for an end to the conflict. It will likely require mobilising thousands of troops and forcibly evacuating civilians.
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Why has Gazans' hunger attained the status of ‘moral crisis' when Israel's genocidal slaughter did not?
For the better part of two years now, we have watched in horror and helplessness as Israel has carried out its campaign of genocidal slaughter against the Palestinians of Gaza . We have seen tens of thousands of children murdered – blown to pieces, shot by Israeli snipers, crushed beneath the concrete of their ruined homes. We have seen cruelty and depravity almost beyond comprehension, and have heard countless statements of intent, from those who wield power in Israel, to continue this slaughter until there is no building left to be levelled, no life left to be crushed. And in this time, those of us who have spoken out about this horror, who have called it by its proper name, have asked a single question: when will it be enough? When will those powerful people and institutions who have turned a blind eye to this savagery, or who have deemed it sadly necessary for the defence of a western ally against its enemies, say that even they can stomach no more? That time, it seems, may finally have come. In recent days, as Israel's deliberate starvation of the population of Gaza has been laid bare for all to see, a number of prominent and powerful people who have previously supported the Israel Defense Forces's right to do whatever it pleases in Gaza have had a public change of heart. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, claims to have seen enough. 'The images from Gaza are unbearable,' she announced in a social media post in late July, as the sickening reality of starvation became too forceful for even her to ignore. 'Civilians in Gaza have suffered too much, for too long. It must stop now.' READ MORE These sentiments, coming from a politician who has long been among the most steadfast and powerful facilitators of Israel's slaughter of Palestinians, ring somewhat hollow. 'In the face of genocide and engineered starvation,' as Hussein Baoumi, deputy Middle East and North African director of Amnesty International put it, her statement was 'too little, too late'. [ As an Irish Jew my Star of David is no longer a badge of pride but a mark of shame Opens in new window ] The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has come to realise he cannot be seen to unquestioningly support Israel when it is deliberately starving the population of Gaza. He announced, in recent days, that his government will formally recognise a Palestinian state before the next meeting of the UN general assembly next month unless Israel commits to a ceasefire, and to a two-state solution. The Palestinian people, of course, have a right to self-determination, and Palestinian statehood is already recognised by 147 of the UN's member states including, as of last year, Ireland. So Starmer's use of this recognition as a bargaining chip is profoundly questionable. The Canadian government has announced similar plans, as has France – though neither has included anything like the UK's abject condition of qualification. Starmer has, of course, been one of the most persistent supporters of Israel, throughout its long and bloody campaign of mass murder and ethnic cleansing. In November 2023, in response to the cutting off of water and electricity supplies to Gaza, he defended what he called Israel's 'right' to do so. He has since then gone out of his way to delegitimise and suppress protest against the genocide; in a highly controversial piece of recent legislation , his government designated the group Palestine Action a terrorist organisation, though its actions have been entirely non-violent. [ MSF calls for immediate closure of 'lethal' Israeli Gaza aid sites Opens in new window ] Even the editorial board of The New York Times, a newspaper whose tendency to view everything from the Israeli point of view has been so overwhelming as to make it frequently useless as a source of information on the conflict, has seemed, in recent days, to question Israel's actions in Gaza. Last week, in an op-ed tilted 'Gaza's Hunger Is a Moral Crisis', the editorial board acknowledged people were now starving to death, and called for the Israeli government to allow food deliveries, and to work towards a ceasefire. So what has changed? What is it about the spectacle of widespread starvation that has provoked the kind of moral response which endless months of genocidal slaughter did not? Why has hunger attained the status of 'moral crisis', when the deliberate bombing of civilian targets, the relentless killing of defenceless Palestinian men, women, and children, in their tens of thousands, never quite did? One way of answering the question might be to look at the language of that New York Times editorial. Reread, first of all, that headline: 'Gaza's Hunger Is a Moral Crisis'. Not Israel's use of starvation as a deliberate strategy of war, but Gaza's hunger. You cannot prosecute a moral crisis in The Hague. Hunger is not a war crime. Contrast this language with that of the International Criminal Court, which, in issuing its arrest warrants against Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, made special mention of Israel's 'use of starvation as a weapon of war'. It is much easier to speak out about a famine than it is about a campaign of mass slaughter, about the relentless bombing of homes and schools and universities and hospitals and refugee camps, because it is easier to view famine as a kind of free-floating, atmospheric misfortune, as a regrettable byproduct of war, as opposed to what, in this case, it actually is: an act of war in itself, and one explicitly outlawed by the Geneva conventions and by the UN. The New York Times invoking a 'moral crisis'; Ursula von der Leyen announcing that Gaza's civilians have suffered enough; Keir Starmer's sudden realisation of what he calls 'the pressing need for Israel to change course': none of this is any more than a shift in rhetorical positioning, the striking of a pose of moral condemnation. And all of it is predicated on an increasingly preposterous political fiction: that Israel has temporarily, if disastrously, strayed from its path of justice and morality, and that it can be somehow prevailed upon to return once more to that path. [ Occupied Territories Bill: US Congress group asks that Ireland be added to list of countries boycotting Israel Opens in new window ] No one understands the hollowness of this rhetoric better than Israel's government, who are perfectly content to let such rhetoric do its harmless work, seeming to launder the consciences of those who have, for close to two years, facilitated this campaign of genocide. And although the language may, for now, have changed its course, the weapons are still travelling in the same direction: from Europe and America to Israel, and onward, from there, to Gaza.
Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Irish Independent
The Irish Independent's View: If we thought the war on Gaza could not be escalated any further, Benjamin Netanyahu is proving us wrong
Israel's declaration to take control of Gaza City, a move that could displace one million Palestinians, can only open another unfathomable seam of suffering for people already fighting starvation and in fear for the lives. Aid agencies say many people have already been forced to flee several times. But they no longer have food, means of transport or a safe place to go. Apart from the anticipated wave of international alarm, Netanyahu's plan for a deeper military push into Gaza has brought warnings from the Israeli military's leadership, and fierce criticism from families of the hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. Concerns that more Palestinians will inevitably be killed were raised by UK prime minister Keir Starmer. Even Germany, one of Israel's staunchest allies and one of its largest suppliers of arms, has said it is suspending military exports over the move. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his government remained deeply concerned about the ongoing suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. Moves by France, the UK and Canada to recognise a Palestinian state had added pressure on Berlin. But Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid also attacked the plan, saying it will lead 'to many more disasters'. He said it was 'a surrender' to Netanyahu's far-right coalition members 'in complete contradiction to the opinion of the military'. Those surveying the devastation and deprivation in Gaza would have thought it unimaginable that there could be any way to further escalate a conflict that has already turned the enclave into a living hell, with the death toll passing 61,000 this week. Israel has already been plunged into international isolation over the spiralling humanitarian cost of the war. The Netherlands has revoked permits for the export of naval ship components to Israel, while Turkey condemned the new offensive and called on the UN to prevent its implementation. Meanwhile, in Brussels, EU Council president Antonio Costa said the move to take over Gaza City 'must have consequences for EU-Israel relations'. In Gaza City, the BBC quoted a Dr Hatem Qanoua who said: 'I'm very afraid for my children and all the innocent people who may die. They've only known death and destruction.' Since the start of this year, at least 99 people, including 29 children under the age of five, have died of malnutrition, according to the World Health Organisation, which says its figures are likely underestimates. Mr Netanyahu has turned a deaf ear to the world, but the words of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel demand attention: 'I don't think I should accept other people's suffering because I suffered. Just the opposite: because I suffered, I don't want others to suffer.'
