The GCC is witnessing a massive diplomatic crisis because of Riyadh’s assertiveness, on the one hand, and Doha’s resistance to a Saudi-dominated regional order, on the other.
The decision to target Qatar clearly indicates that the region is now divided into two camps and that the Arab Gulf countries are in no mood to accept neutral players.
While the Iran nuclear agreement will be the primary agenda of the summit, there are expectations that other regional issues will also be raised: the campaign against the Islamic State, removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the ongoing war in Yemen and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Sultan Qaboos once observed that “while other Gulf Arabs prefer to get on a camel and go west into the Arab desert, Omanis prefer to be on a boat and drift towards India.”
The approach of GCC countries towards the Syrian crisis has shifted from appealing for political reforms to internationalising the issue to arming the regime’s opposition.
Continuing conflict, competition and rivalry have been a regular phenomenon in the Gulf region over the past few decades. Among other reasons, the troubled relationship between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Iran has been one of the major factors responsible for the present state of affairs in the region. The relationship has been marked by sectarian and ideological differences, clash of interests over the presence of the US in the region, concerns over the Iranian nuclear programme and territorial disputes between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
