Gulf States Chart Independent Defense Path as US Reliance Wanes

Gulf states are rethinking the foundations of their own security. Officials from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, speaking at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi on Monday, delivered a blunt verdict: American military protection, however valuable, is no longer sufficient on its own to safeguard Gulf citizens and economies from the threats they face. The message was coordinated, direct, and aimed squarely at the everyday stakes of people who live and work across the region.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Dr Majed Al Ansari put it plainly. “We need to realise in the Gulf that having international forces in the region, having a strategic alliance with the US is very important, but is not enough.” Self-sufficiency, he argued, is “the only way forward,” even as Gulf states continue to rely on partners and allies. The shift in tone reflects a growing public concern: that security arrangements built around external guarantees leave ordinary residents exposed when those guarantees waver.

The UAE’s presidential diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash reinforced the point with equal clarity. “Our security is our first priority,” he said. “When we depend entirely on others, we cannot always assume it will be their priority.” Recent events across the region have made that vulnerability concrete, and for Gulf residents whose safety and economic stability depend on stable governance and open trade, the consequences are anything but abstract.

A central concern is the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which vast quantities of global energy supplies pass. The UAE has made its position unambiguous: no single state will be permitted to control that passage or threaten merchant vessels attempting to use it. “Our energy exports will not be held hostage, nor will our trade and economic activity,” Gargash said, adding that “freedom of navigation is not a concession to be granted, nor a principle to be renegotiated under pressure.” For Gulf citizens and for the broader global public dependent on stable energy supplies, that commitment carries direct implications for fuel prices and economic security.

The relationship with Iran adds a further layer of complexity. Gargash acknowledged that geography makes engagement with Tehran unavoidable, yet he was candid about how far trust has eroded. “Trust is the mountain we will have to climb,” he said, drawing a distinction between establishing a functional working relationship and genuinely rebuilding confidence. He characterised Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries as “a premeditated war of choice waged against its neighbors in direct violation of international law,” stressing that the targeted nations had not attacked Iran first.

Meanwhile, Qatar, which hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East, has pressed for deeper regional cohesion as the answer to these pressures. Al Ansari called for “strengthening the Gulf Cooperation Council and building a more resilient regional security architecture grounded in collective security, diplomacy and deeper economic interdependence.” He also drew the connection that Gulf leaders are increasingly making explicit: “the security of the Gulf is inseparable from global energy security, trade and maritime navigation.” Both nations, according to reporting at https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/08/qatar-and-uae-say-gulf-cannot-rely-on-us-alone-for-regions-security, have presented this as a coordinated vision rather than a unilateral stance.

The UAE is already acting on it. Gargash revealed that the country is expanding ports on its eastern coast and developing pipelines, railways and alternative export routes, a deliberate effort to reduce dependence on any single passage or partner. The logic is straightforward: economic security for Gulf residents cannot rest on geography that a hostile actor could exploit.

Both officials were careful to affirm that the US partnership remains essential. But their message to Gulf publics carries a harder edge than diplomatic reassurance usually does. The region must invest in its own capabilities, build collective defences, and develop the diplomatic and economic resilience to protect citizens and commerce when external guarantees fall short. Whether the Gulf Cooperation Council can translate that shared diagnosis into unified action is the question that will shape the region’s security landscape in the years ahead.