Gulf Security Framework Under Strain, UAE Official Warns

The security architecture of the Gulf Cooperation Council states is facing renewed scrutiny after a senior Emirati official argued that recent attacks on Saudi Arabia expose structural weaknesses in the region’s collective defense arrangements. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said on Monday that strikes targeting the Kingdom undermine the security of the UAE and every Gulf state, and he called for a revived framework of joint security and defense cooperation.

Writing on X on Oct. 12, Gargash framed the issue as one of shared institutional responsibility rather than a bilateral matter between Riyadh and its adversaries. “Since the onset of the aggression against the Arab Gulf states, stemming from the aggressor’s misguided assessment that they were the weakest link in a war we sought to avoid, it has become clear that we are all targeted, and that our security is indivisible,” he wrote. He added that “targeting the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia undermines the security of the UAE and all Gulf states.”

The adviser’s remarks followed a deadly strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday that Saudi authorities said killed 12 people and wounded 309. Saudi Arabia blamed Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis for the attack. A second projectile struck a terminal at the airport on Sunday, and Saudi air defenses intercepted a cruise missile near the facility, according to Saudi officials cited in earlier Kurdistan24 reporting. The Houthis later warned that Saudi airports and airspace remained exposed to military action, with the exception of airports in Mecca and Medina.

Gargash used his statement to press for accountability within the Gulf’s own security arrangements, arguing that shortcomings in collective coordination had emboldened outside actors. “There is a pressing need to revive joint Gulf action, particularly in its security and defense aspects, and to strengthen the collective security framework,” he wrote. “This is the dimension that has witnessed grave neglect, which has emboldened others to overreach against us.” He did not outline specific new defense measures. His statement instead called for stronger institutional cooperation and a more effective collective security system, concluding that “Gulf security is a shared responsibility that brooks no leniency or delay.”

The escalation has produced immediate policy consequences within Saudi institutions. Operations at King Khalid International Airport were suspended after the strikes, and several foreign governments warned their citizens against using the facility. Schools across Riyadh were shifted to remote learning for the week. The Houthis have also warned airlines, aviation personnel and travelers against using much of Saudi airspace, describing Saudi airports as part of what the group considers its military theater.

Meanwhile, the UAE has already condemned the airport attack, characterizing it as a violation of Saudi sovereignty and voicing support for measures taken by Riyadh to protect its security and stability. Gargash’s comments add to growing calls across the region for closer security coordination as attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure raise concerns that the conflict could carry wider consequences for neighboring Gulf states.

The broader context is a sharp escalation in hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis as fighting intensifies in Yemen, where Saudi-backed government forces are confronting Houthi forces. Further coverage of the coalition’s response and the Houthi warnings can be found at https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/945500/uae-adviser-says-attacks-on-saudi-arabia-threaten-gulf-security.

For policymakers and observers tracking the region, the significance of Gargash’s intervention lies less in any single measure than in its institutional argument: that the Gulf states’ security can no longer be managed individually, and that the current framework has failed a test its members must now address collectively. Whether the GCC moves to translate that argument into concrete defense coordination remains the open question.