{"id":2983,"date":"2025-06-22T14:37:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T14:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=2983"},"modified":"2025-06-22T20:03:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T20:03:00","slug":"the-gulf-on-edge-are-we-witnessing-the-dawn-of-a-regional-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/the-gulf-on-edge-are-we-witnessing-the-dawn-of-a-regional-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gulf on Edge: Are We Witnessing the Dawn of a Regional War?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"239\" data-end=\"384\"><strong data-start=\"239\" data-end=\"384\">U.S. bases on high alert, Gulf leaders urging restraint, and Iran threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz\u2014where is the Middle East heading?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"386\" data-end=\"835\">The latest escalation between Washington and Tehran has pushed the Gulf region into a heightened state of alert. Following what President Donald Trump described as the complete destruction of Iran\u2019s key nuclear facilities using \u201cmassive bunker-busting bombs,\u201d the specter of regional war looms larger than ever. While Gulf leaders are calling for calm, the silence of multilateral actors and the ambiguity of U.S. strategy raise troubling questions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"837\" data-end=\"953\">Is this merely another episode in a long history of brinkmanship, or are we on the edge of an uncontrollable spiral?<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"29O6gOOTxs4\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0623\u0645\u0631\u064a\u0643\u0627 \u062a\u0642\u0635\u0641 \u0625\u064a\u0631\u0627\u0646 \u0648\u0637\u0647\u0631\u0627\u0646 \u062a\u0647\u062f\u062f \u0628\u0625\u063a\u0644\u0627\u0642 \u0645\u0636\u064a\u0642 \u0647\u0631\u0645\u0632\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/29O6gOOTxs4?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"960\" data-end=\"1002\"><strong data-start=\"964\" data-end=\"1002\">A Shockwave Beyond the Middle East<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1004\" data-end=\"1452\">Leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar\u2014who hosted Trump during his recent Middle East tour\u2014held emergency phone calls on Sunday, discussing the global and regional implications of this dangerous military escalation. According to state news agencies and regional sources, Saudi Arabia, the world\u2019s largest oil exporter, is now on high security alert, while Bahrain has rerouted traffic and Kuwait has opened emergency shelters.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1454\" data-end=\"1550\">This is not just regional containment\u2014it is <strong data-start=\"1498\" data-end=\"1535\">an international security dilemma<\/strong> in the making.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1557\" data-end=\"1608\"><strong data-start=\"1561\" data-end=\"1608\">Hormuz: The World\u2019s Energy Lifeline at Risk<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1610\" data-end=\"1914\">Among the most alarming developments is the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which nearly <strong data-start=\"1736\" data-end=\"1771\">20% of global oil and gas flows<\/strong>. Reports suggest that Iran\u2019s parliament may have approved such a move, pending final authorization from the Supreme National Security Council.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1916\" data-end=\"2117\">Is this a serious military option or a calculated threat designed to gain leverage in negotiations? Regardless of intent, the global markets are rattled, and energy security is once again under threat.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2124\" data-end=\"2184\"><strong data-start=\"2128\" data-end=\"2184\">Washington\u2019s Dual Strategy: Diplomacy by Detonation?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2186\" data-end=\"2375\">Trump\u2019s declaration that Iran will face \u201ceven greater devastation\u201d if it refuses peace talks reveals a <strong data-start=\"2289\" data-end=\"2311\">deep contradiction<\/strong>: Can diplomacy truly be achieved through the language of bombs?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2377\" data-end=\"2636\">Is the U.S. aiming for a total Iranian capitulation, or positioning itself from a place of strength to negotiate a new regional order? The answer will shape not just the future of U.S.\u2013Iran relations but also <strong data-start=\"2586\" data-end=\"2635\">the balance of power in the wider Middle East<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2643\" data-end=\"2698\"><strong data-start=\"2647\" data-end=\"2698\">Muted Global Response: Where Are the Mediators?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2700\" data-end=\"3033\">Despite the severity of the situation, major international actors\u2014namely the European Union, United Nations, Russia, and China\u2014have offered little more than muted responses. Is the global diplomatic architecture too paralyzed to intervene? Have multilateral institutions lost their relevance in the face of great power unilateralism?<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3040\" data-end=\"3107\"><strong data-start=\"3044\" data-end=\"3107\">Conclusion: A Slow-Motion Crisis or a Controlled Explosion?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3109\" data-end=\"3416\">This is not merely a crisis between two adversaries. It is a symptom of <strong data-start=\"3181\" data-end=\"3240\">a deeper, systemic disorder in international governance<\/strong>. Gulf countries, hosting major U.S. military bases and sitting at the crossroads of global energy trade, may soon find themselves drawn into decisions not of their own making.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3418\" data-end=\"3587\">The key question now is:<br data-start=\"3442\" data-end=\"3445\" \/><strong data-start=\"3445\" data-end=\"3587\">Will the Gulf states assert a diplomatic role to prevent catastrophe, or remain reluctant spectators as history unfolds at their doorstep?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. bases on high alert, Gulf leaders urging restraint, and Iran threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz\u2014where is the Middle East heading? The latest escalation between Washington and Tehran has pushed the Gulf region into a heightened state of alert. Following what President Donald Trump described as the complete destruction of Iran\u2019s key nuclear [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,41],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2983","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-asia-americas","8":"category-middle-east"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2985,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2983\/revisions\/2985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}