Gulf coordination in New York as Washington pledges to cripple Iranian aviation
As the possibility of a renewed war with Iran emerges, despite the United States keeping the door open for a diplomatic solution, the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held a coordination meeting on the evening of the day before yesterday on the sidelines of their preparations to participate in the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The meeting, attended by Foreign Minister Sheikh Jeraah Al-Jaber, discussed the current developments, regional updates, and their implications for security and stability in the region, as well as avenues for cooperation and joint coordination in addressing current challenges.
This came amid reports that Republican President Donald Trump is preparing to hold a consultative summit with representatives of GCC countries, which may be expanded to include regional states such as Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan to discuss the Iran crisis.
The day after Trump confirmed he is close to making a decisive decision regarding the conflict—whether to resume war, leave Iran to “economically rot,” or reach an agreement while remaining open to meeting President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the UN meetings—the region witnessed active diplomatic movements. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan held telephone consultations with his counterparts in Kuwait, Egypt, and Turkey, discussing regional developments.
Meanwhile, Iranian sources confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stopped in Doha yesterday for talks before heading to New York to attend the General Assembly sessions.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari revealed that Doha has been exchanging ideas for about two weeks regarding the resumption of Iran’s talks with the relevant parties.
He added that Qatari mediators are currently moving between various capitals in hopes of making progress, noting that Doha has received assurances from officials in the U.S. administration that Washington wants to reach an agreement.
Concurrently with Araghchi’s discussions in Doha, which plays a key mediating role between Iran and the United States, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi began a visit to Tehran, which sources said focused on Yemen.
On the U.S. side, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mike Waltz stated that the door remains open for Iran to return to the negotiating table, expressing his hope that Tehran will take that path through diplomatic and peaceful means.
Waltz emphasized that time is on the side of his country, which is imposing a naval blockade on Iran and tightening its economic sanctions.
In a broad move against one of Iran’s key economic sectors, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that all Iranian airlines will cease operations worldwide starting tomorrow (Wednesday).
Bessent said he could not determine how long the conflict with Iran would last, noting that Chinese officials are “heavily engaged” in discussions regarding sanctions on Tehran.
Meanwhile, satellites detected unusual activity by U.S. fighter jets in the region and observed a U.S. long-range B-1B Lancer strategic bomber taking off from RAF Fairford. A tanker was targeted by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in injuries to two crew members.
The vessel resumed its journey to its next port of call after the attack, whose source remains unknown. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it destroyed a U.S. MQ-9 drone over the strait, which Reuters reported has seen a sharp decline in trackable ship traffic.
The IRGC stated that the United States lacks the courage to admit its defeat, along with Israel, in the war that erupted on February 28.
According to regional reports, Iran informed Iraqi authorities of its potential suspension of inbound flights from all countries starting today, Tuesday, a move some viewed as reflecting Tehran’s heightened security hedging amid escalating regional tensions.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Statistics Center announced that the country’s economic growth rate contracted by 10.1% during the first three months of the current Iranian fiscal year. In this context, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Parliament, stated that the United States appears to be projecting dominance and strength, but is in fact “fragile and vulnerable.”
Ghalibaf, whose country is betting on disrupting Gulf energy supplies to international markets to impact the global economy and embarrass the U.S. administration, wrote on the “X” platform that “Washington is trying to pressure Iran without bearing the consequences or costs,” deeming this “impossible.” He added that the path ahead is unpredictable and cannot be simulated through models.
Ghalibaf’s remarks came in response to a weekly report by the banking group JPMorgan on oil market outlooks. The report noted that, for the first time since the conflict with Iran began, the group does not have a “base case scenario,” citing the difficulty of modeling the current situation and predicting its outcomes.
