Muscat – Oman has called for a fundamental rethink of the Gulf’s security architecture, urging a move away from decades of policies based on ‘containment’ towards a more inclusive regional framework that brings together all Gulf states.

In an opinion article published in the French newspaper Le Monde, H E Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, said the recent war involving Iran has exposed the weaknesses of the existing regional security order and highlighted the need for a new system founded on shared responsibility and regional integration.

“The people of the Sultanate of Oman and the Gulf states are living under the burden of the consequences of a war that should never have happened,” he wrote, expressing hope that recent developments would lead to a genuine and lasting end to the conflict rather than a temporary halt in military operations that could collapse at any moment.

H E Sayyid Badr said establishing a permanent framework to guarantee freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways, is an immediate priority. He noted that Oman, together with Iran, bears particular responsibility for the strait because both countries have territorial waters bordering it.

He said Oman and Iran, working alongside the international community, should develop practical and sustainable arrangements in accordance with international law to safeguard freedom of navigation and protect one of the world’s most vital trade routes.

While welcoming France’s constructive role in discussions on the future of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign minister stressed that the issue should form part of a broader strategic vision encompassing the Gulf and its associated maritime routes.

H E Sayyid Badr argued that the regional security system established after 1979 was built on the assumption that Iran posed an existential threat to the Gulf and Western interests. He described that assumption as fundamentally flawed, noting that decades of increased military spending, the expansion of foreign military bases and reliance on external security guarantees had failed to deliver lasting stability or prevent successive conflicts.

“The recent war has demonstrated that the policy of containment was an illusion,” he wrote, adding that some of the most significant threats to Gulf security have stemmed from decisions taken outside the region.

The foreign minister said any future security framework must include all eight Gulf states – the six members of the GCC, together with Iran and Iraq. Each country, he said, has legitimate interests and responsibilities and should play a role in shaping and implementing a new regional order.

He acknowledged that such a transformation would require frank, and at times difficult, discussions, together with a reassessment of long-held assumptions that have shaped regional and international relations. The aim, he said, should be to distinguish between partnerships that strengthen Gulf security and those that create fresh vulnerabilities or sources of tension.

H E Sayyid Badr also called for a balanced review of relations with international partners, particularly the United States. The objective, he said, is not to abandon long-standing alliances but to rebalance them in light of the strategic realities exposed by the conflict.

He added that the security of the Gulf cannot be separated from that of the north-western Indian Ocean, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the wider network of ports and maritime routes that underpin the region’s economy.

Describing the war as a “disaster””, H E Sayyid Badr said it had been launched without a United Nations mandate and had failed to achieve its declared objectives. He concluded by expressing hope that its consequences would bring an end to nearly half a century of containment policies and pave the way for a more balanced, realistic and effective security framework for the Gulf region.