Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has simultaneously rebuked Gulf nations for enabling the US military presence and thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts in the conflict. In a post on X, he warned Gulf governments that hosting American and Israeli forces jeopardizes their own security, while in a conversation with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he praised Islamabad for its constructive peace role. The contrast between these two messages captures the complexity of Iran’s regional diplomacy.
Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar have been caught in the conflict through American military bases on their soil. These bases have been used to strike Iran, drawing Tehran’s retaliatory fire into Gulf territory. The situation has significantly complicated relationships within the Gulf and raised fears of a wider regional war.
Pezeshkian maintained that Iran does not engage in preemptive attacks but will respond forcefully when its infrastructure or economic centers are struck. His rebuke of Gulf nations is framed as a call to reclaim sovereignty and refuse to be used as instruments of foreign military campaigns. The message is both a warning and a plea for regional realignment.
Pakistan’s Sharif relayed that Pezeshkian stressed trust as the non-negotiable foundation for any peace talks. Pakistan has organized a major multilateral ministerial meeting in Islamabad with foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey, focused on identifying pathways to de-escalation. The meeting reflects growing regional urgency to bring the conflict to an end.
Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar will chair the talks and also meet with Prime Minister Sharif. Tehran’s praise of Pakistan stands in sharp contrast to its warnings to Gulf states, illustrating Iran’s nuanced and differentiated regional diplomacy. The Islamabad talks may prove decisive in shifting the conflict from military escalation toward a sustainable diplomatic process.