What Kind of Cooperation Council After The War Against Iran?

The unified position of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members regarding the Iranian attacks against the six member states suggests a form of renaissance for this bloc, at least in appearance. It must be acknowledged that the Council has experienced deep internal turmoil since late 2025, following Saudi-Emirati disagreements in Yemen, disputes that had already come to light in Sudan. Some believe that the initial spark was in Libya. These disagreements have paralyzed the Council, even leading to an unprecedented internal crisis in the 45-year history of this regional bloc.

The Iranian threat was precisely the raison d'être of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The name given to this six-member council was carefully chosen. The apparent objective was to avoid provoking Iran by refraining from using the phrase «Arabic Gulf», considered taboo in Iran. The Gulf States, under the impetus of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, strove to contain the threat posed by the slogan of «exporting the revolution», launched by Ayatollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, in 1979, after the fall of the Shah's regime.

Sheikh Zayed hosted the first summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi. This event paved the way for a long process aimed at creating a bulwark against Iranian aggression, which was manifested by Iran's refusal to end the war against Iraq, regardless of the conflict's origin. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), established in Abu Dhabi in May 1981, thus served as a bulwark for its six member states following the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war in September 1980. The Council largely succeeded in preventing the escalation of the conflict, despite its eight years of war and Iran's desire to retaliate against GCC states, particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The Council largely succeeded in containing the extension of the conflict. It is well known that the GCC member states supported Iraq throughout the war. The fall of Iraq, the eastern gateway to the Gulf, would have led to the fall of the entire Gulf region, regardless of the mistakes made by Saddam Hussein, then Iraqi president. Iraqi mistakes can be recognized if one considers that Saddam, with his limited political experience and imprudence, did not understand from the outset that starting a war against the Islamic Republic was falling into Khomeini's trap, seeking an external enemy to stir up Iranian nationalism and Persian chauvinism. It is also well known that Iran sought revenge against Saudi Arabia by attempting to politicize the Hajj pilgrimage and provoke unrest while hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were in Mecca during that period.

Iran also attacked Kuwait, attempting to assassinate the Emir, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad, and causing security incidents on several occasions. Saudi Arabia successfully defended itself against Iranian aggression. Similarly, Kuwait managed to protect itself and ensure the continuity of its oil exports. In response to Iranian attacks on these ships, it notably hoisted American and Soviet flags on its oil tankers. Every member state of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) suffered Iranian aggression. The Islamic Republic spared neither Bahrain nor the United Arab Emirates, the latter having played a crucial role in developing a common Gulf position aimed at ending the war, given the potential consequences of an Iranian invasion of Iraq at that time.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) withstood the shocks it experienced, notably Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. It worked for the liberation of Kuwait and its restitution to its people. Later, in 2003, the GCC absorbed the repercussions of the Iraqi earthquake – the handover of Iraq to the Islamic Republic by the George W. Bush administration – with all the strategic imbalance that this created for the entire region. This imbalance coincided with the complete fall of Syria and Lebanon into Iran's hands.

During the Arab Spring, the GCC played an essential role in protecting Bahrain, where Iran exploited sectarian tensions. The direct intervention of GCC member states was decisive in thwarting a blatant Iranian attempt to overthrow the regime of this peaceful country. Whether one likes it or not, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has lived, since its creation, under the shadow of the Iranian crisis, or even the Iranian threat. A new Middle East, a different Gulf, and a different Iran will emerge from the Israeli-American war against Iran. Will a new Gulf Cooperation Council also emerge? What role will the GCC and its member states play in the face of the new challenges posed by the profound upheavals in Iran, especially given fears of the disintegration of this country which has sought to dominate the Gulf since even before the establishment of the «Islamic Republic»?

The GCC will face a different Iran, whose form and nature of regime are difficult to predict at this stage. The only certainty is that the current regime, the «Islamic Republic», is doomed to disappear. Nothing demonstrates this better than the attacks launched by the Revolutionary Guards against GCC countries for specious reasons, thus revealing the true face of the regime. These attacks even targeted the Sultanate of Oman, which has always maintained friendly relations with Iran. The Sultanate adopted a political school based on the principle that friendly relations with Iran, a neighboring country, are inevitable, regardless of the nature of the regime in Tehran… Aside from Iran, the question remains: what about Iraq, a country that must change and which, since the creation of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has been a source of concern for every member state, whether under Saddam Hussein or after his fall?