Former Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani has urged the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council to establish a unified military alliance similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, arguing that the ongoing regional war has exposed the urgent need for collective security.

Writing in a post on the social media platform X, he said the conflict would eventually end but that its lessons must be acted upon immediately.

“This war in our region, like all other wars, will come to an end,” he wrote, “but there are lessons and morals that the Gulf Cooperation Council states must draw from it, the most important of which is solidarity, alliance, and unity of word and stance.”

He argued that the Gulf states had little alternative but to establish “an effective, real, and on-the-ground military security alliance, akin to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in which Saudi Arabia plays the most crucial role as the largest state.”

According to him, preparation for such an alliance should begin immediately rather than after the fighting subsides.

“Given the importance of the matter, the study and preparation for it must begin now, without waiting for the war to end,” he wrote. “And for that, the Council's states must, with determination and without delay or hesitation, transcend all the disputes between them, in preservation of our shared interests, to keep the Council strong and cohesive, to ensure the independence of its peoples and states, and to prioritise the general Gulf interest over the Qatari interest.”

He also called for the rapid development of a coordinated regional defence industry.

“We must not wait for the fighting to end either; rather, the Council's states should immediately begin establishing and developing an advanced, coordinated, and planned base of military and electronic industries among themselves, so that they can defend their peoples against aggression and pre-empt and deter any attacks targeting them before they occur,” he said.

“Our states possess the necessary geography, resources, and funds for this. And perhaps we can take the lesson from Iran, which, despite the siege, managed to develop for itself an advanced missile industry base, with which—regrettably—it has bombarded our states and aggressed against them without right.”

Al Thani stressed that Gulf countries had not sought the conflict between Israel and Iran and should not bear the consequences.

“Since the Council's states did not start this war, nor did they want it in the first place, and were seeking a solution between the United States and Iran, our states must not bear the economic and political repercussions that will result from the war,” he wrote.

“Israel, as the one that ignited the spark of the war, must bear responsibility before us, before the world, and before the United States. For this war was started by Israel to make itself the upper hand in the region militarily, economically, and politically, as it declares every day.”

He added that Gulf states must maintain a unified position towards both Israel and Iran.

“Therefore, we in the Council's states must stand as one front, whether toward Israel or toward Iran,” he said.

“For Iran will remain our neighbour forever, even though we differ with it and reject what it has done and is doing against us, and as a result, consider it an enemy to us today—a matter that our states must discuss and agree upon to determine the best approach for dialogue with Iran and what we accept or reject from its policies.”

“So that our states do not become sacrificial lambs every time fighting or a misunderstanding erupts between Israel, America, and Iran.”

He also said that relations with Israel might eventually require pragmatic engagement.

“Likewise, Israel is not far from us, and we may need to reach an understanding with it, but not according to its declared policies—rather, in accordance with the principles of good neighbourliness that serve Palestinian rights in the occupied Arab territories and our shared interests.”

Al Thani concluded by calling for unity among Gulf states and urging them to rise to what he described as the moment’s historic responsibility.

“All of this calls for purity of intentions among the Council's states, and for the criterion to be the law, reason, and shared interest, not personal and immediate interests under any circumstance or for any reason,” he wrote.

“And I have no doubt about the intentions of the leaders of the Council's states, but what is required now is that we rise to the level of the historical responsibilities that these circumstances impose upon us.”

He also criticised the muted response of some Arab governments to the challenges facing the Gulf.

“What is surprising is that we have not heard a strong stance from several Arab states toward what the Council's states are facing, as those states preferred to turn a blind eye and commit to neutrality, because what matters to them is their own interests,” he said.

“This in itself calls for our states in the Council to engage in deep reflection that makes us immediately establish that Gulf military, security, and geographic alliance, linked to Turkey and Pakistan through solid alliance relations that spare us reliance on the arms of our sons.”

© Naya Daur