Iran and the Gulf... How long will we test the goodwill of our neighbors?

The problem between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Iran is not a matter of differing political stances; politics, by its very nature, involves divergent interests and contrasting visions. Nor is the issue that Tehran has its own calculations with the United States or the West; that is a matter each state manages according to its own interests. The problem begins when neighborliness turns into a constant test of patience, goodwill becomes an opportunity for evasion, and an outstretched hand of peace becomes a space for recalibrating escalation. …