More than one international coalition is now taking shape to confront the actions of militias across the region, whose activities threaten security and stability and endanger international shipping. The more countries that join these coalitions, and the more closely those coalitions coordinate with one another, the greater the pressure on these militias will become.
If Iran-backed groups and militias refuse to be deterred, the international coalitions will nevertheless have fulfilled their responsibility. No non-state group can be allowed to take its own people, along with the rest of the world, hostage and hold the threat over them indefinitely. Nor can the world be protected from the danger posed by such groups without taking steps to curb the chaos.
With the trilateral alliance agreed in Mecca, another front has now emerged to confront the coercive tactics employed by these groups. In this way, the international community can stand up to such blackmail.
Confronting armed groups is no longer an individual choice for any one state. It requires collective action to protect supply chains, keep international corridors open, and pursue peace and security. The responsibility for ending this coercion, therefore, can no longer rest with a single state. It has become an international responsibility.
As for the negotiations currently underway with Iran, they are little more than an attempt to buy time. The process may take a long time, but it will not be like before.
Many countries believe the delay has gone on long enough and that the situation has become intolerable. People around the world are suffering as a result of this coercion. These countries will therefore certainly respond positively to efforts to put an end to it, because their economies have been harmed by these continuing acts of recklessness.
It has taken time since the beginning of the US-Iran war, during which Iran attacked the Gulf states and threatened the region's waterways. But everyone now understands that delaying collective action only deepens the crisis, increases the threat posed by militias, and aggravates international tensions.
The need, therefore, is for swift, coordinated action to convince Iran that this conduct is damaging the global economy.
