How can trust be rebuilt between Iran and its neighbours, against whom it has waged aggression for more than four months, raining missiles and drones on their skies and territories under the pretext of responding to the United States — the same country with which Iran has now signed a memorandum of understanding?
And yet Iran sat at the same table in Switzerland with those who killed its supreme guide and senior leadership, destroyed its military and economic facilities, and targeted its nuclear programme — on which it spent billions of dollars at the expense of development projects that should have received those wasted billions.
In politics, as in human relations, trust is not built merely by signing an agreement, but it can be destroyed by a single event. It is a long and complex process that requires genuine will, consistent behaviour, and an accumulation of positions that confirm what is said in negotiating halls is actually reflected on the ground.
The region has lived through decades of tension and mutual suspicion. The Arab Gulf states have watched with concern Iran's policies across the region and in a number of Arab arenas, as well as the rhetoric accompanying those policies and the attempts to exploit sectarian divisions in the service of political and strategic objectives.
This charged environment has made trust a scarce commodity in many instances. This is why any new agreement between Washington and Tehran will not, on its own, be sufficient to convince the Arab Gulf states that the page of the past has been turned and that a new phase has truly begun. Trust is not granted — it is earned.
It is certain that easing tensions between the United States and Iran represents a positive development in principle. The region has paid a heavy price for successive conflicts, wars, and crises.
However, the Arab Gulf states do not view the matter solely through the prism of the nuclear file, but through a broader lens encompassing regional security, political stability, respect for state sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs. The path to rebuilding trust therefore runs through practical measures more than through political statements.
The region needs to see tangible actions confirming that Iran is genuinely moving towards a policy grounded in good neighbourliness, mutual respect, and shared interests. It also needs assurance that any financial or economic resources Tehran gains as a result of the agreement will not be converted into tools to fuel hotbeds of tension and conflict or to establish further terrorist cells.
Experience has shown that the Gulf states are not opposed to dialogue. Recent years have witnessed important indicators of a willingness to reduce tension and open channels of communication. The region has also seen a series of meetings and contacts that reflected a growing awareness that perpetual confrontation serves no one.
But dialogue alone is not enough. Genuine trust is built when everyone feels that their security is respected, their borders are protected, and their stability is not a card to be played in any regional or international conflict.
What perhaps distinguishes the Gulf states today is that they have entered a new phase of strategic thinking. These states are no longer preoccupied with crisis management, because they are focused on building the future. There are giant development projects, investments worth hundreds of billions, and ambitious economic visions seeking to diversify sources of income and create more prosperous and stable societies. It is only natural that regional stability should be a fundamental prerequisite for the success of these plans.
From this perspective, Iran itself would be the greatest beneficiary if it chose the path of cooperation over zero-sum competition. The region possesses resources and capabilities that make it one of the most important areas in the world, economically and strategically. What can be achieved through partnerships and integration far exceeds what can be achieved through conflicts and disputes.
The tour of the region conducted last week by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the meetings he held with a number of Gulf officials, and the statements that emerged from those meetings have thus far failed to reassure the Arab Gulf states — as evidenced by the fact that no sooner had the American secretary left the region than Iran moved to obstruct navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
When US forces struck certain Iranian positions in response to that internationally condemned action, Iran resumed launching drones and missiles at the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Kuwait. Where, then, is the trust?
Gulf security is made by the states of the region when they choose cooperation over aggression, development over conflict, and trust over suspicion. This is what Iran must understand — whether or not its marathon negotiations with the United States succeed.