Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told Gulf governments in direct terms not to allow Washington to turn their land into a battlefield, warning that doing so puts their own security and development at risk. His message was shared on X more than a month into the Iran-US conflict and addressed Gulf leaders personally. Pezeshkian argued that the Gulf region’s future depends on whether its governments are willing to push back against foreign military use of their territory.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman have all seen their territories become active fronts in the war due to US military bases from which strikes against Iran have been launched. Tehran has retaliated with its own strikes inside those countries, making the Gulf a live theater of military conflict. The human and economic consequences for Gulf populations have grown with each week the war continues.
Pezeshkian was unambiguous about Iran’s military posture: no preemptive strikes, but strong and decisive retaliation for any attacks on Iranian economic or infrastructure assets. He told Gulf governments that allowing Washington to use their land as a battlefield invites ongoing Iranian retaliation and undermines their own prospects for stability and growth. His message is a call to resist foreign military exploitation of Gulf territory.
Pakistan has taken on an increasingly important diplomatic role. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that Pezeshkian views trust as a non-negotiable precondition for peace talks. Pakistan’s foreign ministry has organized a significant multilateral meeting in Islamabad with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey focused on exploring de-escalation strategies.
Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar will chair the ministerial talks and arrange meetings with Prime Minister Sharif. Tehran has praised Pakistan’s role as a credible and constructive peace broker. The Islamabad meeting represents one of the most promising diplomatic openings of the war, and its success could create the conditions needed for a broader peace process to begin.