Gulf states recalibrate security doctrine after Iran war
Qatar and the UAE signal a strategic shift away from sole reliance on the US partnership.
Gulf states recalibrate security doctrine after Iran war — At the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari delivered a blunt assessment: the recent war with Iran proved Gulf states cannot rely exclusively on the strategic partnership with the United States for their security. He called on regional states to develop more independent security capabilities, stating that "independence in security is the only way forward."[^1] Just hours earlier, UAE presidential diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash struck a similarly independent tone. Gargash stated on Monday that the United Arab Emirates will not allow its energy exports to be 'held hostage,' and warned that rebuilding trust with Tehran 'may take decades.'[^2] The two statements, delivered within a day of each other, suggest a coordinated Gulf push to recalibrate the region's security architecture after the war with Iran exposed the limits of the American umbrella. Al-Ansari's call for independent capabilities and Gargash's warning about trust with Iran both point to a foundational shift. The Gulf states are no longer content to be passive partners in a US-led security framework. The question now is whether they can build credible alternatives—and how Washington will respond to a bloc that is increasingly asserting its own strategic agency. Party list scramble: threats, defections, and Haredi shifts — Yosef Haddad, the second candidate on the "Amcha Yisrael" list, told 103FM on Monday that he has not met personally with Prime Minister Netanyahu, even as he faces what he described as serious death threats and calls to murder him since the launch of the party's campaign in Arab society. A billboard of the party near Shfaram was vandalized.[^1][^2] Meanwhile, Rebbetzin Sarah Toledano, daughter of the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, has broken her silence to publicly back the Shas party. In a separate development within the Haredi sector, Elyakim Shtark, chairman of the executive committee of the Belz Hasidic sect, was arrested in May during a demonstration. The "Haredi Public" party, which appeals to working Haredim and supports military service, continues to draw interest, with