Between Missiles and Interests... Who Pays the Price of Conflicts?
Every time I try to find a convincing explanation for what is happening in our region, I become more convinced that the peoples are the biggest losers, and that interests are the most present players in every scene of the conflict.
For many years, the region has been living in the wake of successive crises:
Ceasefires followed by confrontations, negotiations followed by threats, and fiery statements that end in different calculations on the ground.
In between all this, the citizen of the region remains asking: Where are these events taking us, and who is the true beneficiary?
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What we see today of tensions, extending from the nuclear file to the Strait of Hormuz, and from the Red Sea to the Bab al-Mandab, from military threats to the mobilization of militias, confirms that the region remains an open arena for settling scores and pursuing interests.
Perhaps what deserves reflection is that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, despite the challenges, provocations, and attacks they have faced—both direct and indirect—chose from the outset the path of wisdom and self-restraint.
They refused to be drawn into confrontations whose endings they do not know and whose losses have no limits.
The leaderships of the GCC countries, with their wisdom and foresight,
realized that wars are easy to ignite, but extinguishing them may take many years, and that development, stability, and a thriving economy cannot grow in an environment dominated by tension and turmoil.
In contrast, it is impossible to ignore the fact that Iranian policies since 1979 have remained a constant source of concern for its neighbors. Slogans of expansion, export of the revolution, support for armed militias, and interference in the affairs of other states are all issues that have left deep imprints on the security and stability of the region.
We have heard a lot about slogans of liberating Palestine and supporting Arab causes, but reality has proven that many fires were directed more at Arab capitals than elsewhere, and that the peoples of the region have paid heavy prices in terms of their security, stability, and economies. Therefore, the question is not: who is stronger, but who is more committed
to the future of its people?
The Gulf Arab countries have proven over the past decades that development, construction, and investment in human capital are the right path, while others were preoccupied with missiles and slogans. Hence, the real bet must remain on our Gulf unity, the cohesion of our ranks, and the enhancement of our economic and security capabilities, and not being drawn behind slogans or emotional positions, which experience has shown often conceal interests and calculations unrelated to the interests of the peoples of the region.
The past years have taught us that states first seek their own interests,
and that the only constant amid changes is the strength of the state, the unity of its people, and the cohesion of its internal front.
As for us in the Gulf, we have enough wisdom, experience, and lessons to realize that the security and stability of our homelands are the true capital, which must not be compromised under any circumstances.
Amid these rapid changes, hope in God remains great,
as well as in the wisdom and foresight of our leaders
that our countries remain an oasis of security and stability, and that God protects our homelands from all harm, and spares the peoples of the region from the calamities of wars and conflicts,
and turns back the evil of aggressors against themselves, and perpetuates upon our country, the Gulf,
and the entire world the blessing of security, peace, and tranquility.
In the end, we are not advocates of war, nor lovers of confrontation, nor do we seek an enemy we wish for their destruction, but we have learned from the experiences of the years that homelands are not protected by wishes, and that conscious peoples are not bitten from the same hole twice.
We have heard slogans many times, seen promises many times, and believed in good intentions for a long time, but facts were more eloquent than words, and events were more truthful than speeches and statements. Today, after everything that has happened and is happening, the question is no longer:
What does Iran want? Indeed, the real question is: When will the entire region realize that the security of the Gulf is a red line, and that tampering with its security and stability is not a fleeting gamble but a wager on the future of an entire nation?
We ask God to protect our country, our neighbors, and all our Arab and Islamic homelands; to shield us from the evil of trials, both apparent and hidden; to turn back the plots of aggressors against their own throats; and to perpetuate upon us the blessings of security, faith, and stability. May He make the future belong to those who build, not to those who destroy.
“And Allah invites to the Home of Peace.”
Saudi Media Advisor
