At the invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Gulf Cooperation Council leaders convened in Jeddah last week. Chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the summit addressed the lessons drawn from the war with Iran and went over the progress GCC states have made in response.
Since the war erupted on February 28, Gulf officials have been in constant consultation. On March 1, GCC foreign ministers held an emergency meeting; on March 5, they met their counterparts from the European Union, followed by a joint summit with European leaders and separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Britain and Russia. Coordination among military, security, and economic officials was sustained throughout.
The GCC has long favored political solutions for its disputes with Iran. Some member states maintained close diplomatic and economic ties with Tehran, and several strenuously sought to prevent this war. Iran "rewarded" the GCC by directing more than 85 percent of its attacks on its territory, creating deep resentments among Gulf states, who feel that Tehran's conduct has permanently undermined their confidence in its intentions.
While GCC countries still prefer to resolve their differences with Iran through diplomatic channels, the collapse of trust makes pairing diplomacy with stronger defensive and deterrent capabilities necessary, as well as obliging them to leverage the broad international support that has coalesced around the GCC since the onset of Iran’s assault.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz was the most pressing issue on the table in Jeddah. The Gulf position is unambiguous: it must be resolved immediately, in accordance with international law, and independently of American-Iranian negotiations. Three months on, the closure has triggered a global economic slowdown, a severe energy crisis, and a food security emergency affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide who have nothing to do with this war.
The war has also underscored the strategic value of Saudi Arabia's logistical and transport infrastructure. Its Red Sea ports have become an alternative gateway for Gulf imports and exports. Thousands of trucks now traverse the Kingdom after Hormuz was closed. This has been supported by its railway network and more than 30 airports, nearly half of them international, which have absorbed much of the traffic from Gulf airports forced to shut down.
The war has equally underscored the urgency of accelerating connectivity and integration among GCC states, a conclusion the Jeddah summit reaffirmed. Logistic integration has been a central priority for Crown Prince Mohammed for over a decade: first linking Gulf countries internally and then capitalizing on their unique geographic position as a global bridge between continents.
Beyond infrastructure investments - in roads, railways, airports, and ports - this integration demands streamlining the regulatory frameworks, standards, and protocols that govern land, rail, air, and maritime transport.
Gulf states have built some of the world's most capable airlines. Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in expanding its railway, which has grown sixfold in the past decade, from 800 kilometers to 5,000, and the UAE and Qatar have established new railway companies. The Kingdom has also launched an initiative to connect Gulf capitals by rail, and the first agreement of its kind was signed in December, linking Riyadh and Doha by high-speed train. Further agreements are currently in the works. Meanwhile, the long-planned GCC railway, which had first been agreed upon two decades ago, remains under development; the Jeddah summit called for accelerating the process.
The summit also reaffirmed the GCC's commitment to digital transformation, investment in artificial intelligence, and cloud data infrastructure. The war, however, has exposed the threat Iran poses to underwater cables, highlighting the need to develop local alternatives and localize these industries.
The GCC Interconnection Authority has been operational since 2010. Its plans extend beyond the region despite considerable challenges. In October 2024, Crown Prince Mohammed proposed extending the power grid to Europe, a proposal now actively being discussed.
A swift end to the war cannot be taken for granted. A chasm separates the two sides. But the early phase of the conflict exposed Iran's willingness to target infrastructure and oil, gas, and petrochemical industries in GCC states, compelling the Jeddah summit to accelerate a number of critical integration projects.
The strategic value of the oil pipeline between Dammam and Yanbu has been made evident by this war. Despite its considerable cost, the past couple of months have offered a reminder of the shortsightedness of evaluating strategic projects purely on commercial grounds. Other oil transport projects will accordingly be reassessed in light of this experience.
Maritime interconnectivity may be even more urgent and considerably more complex. Previous studies deemed it economically unviable, but Iranian attacks and threats against desalination plants demand a fresh assessment, particularly given the rising security risks and the potential threat of nuclear contamination to Gulf waters.
Iran has used thousands of ballistic missiles and drones in its attacks on GCC states. Defense officials were among the first to coordinate after the war began, through the GCC's unified military command and its specialized committees.
More than 90 percent of Iran’s attacks were intercepted - a testament to the capabilities of Gulf forces and the quality of their equipment. Even so, there is a clear drive to do better: raising interception rates, extending early-warning times, reducing costs, and developing domestic drone and missile industries as future deterrents.
In the weeks ahead, the outcomes of the Jeddah summit will spark a flurry of activity across the GCC aimed at reinforcing political coordination, bolstering defense capabilities, deepening logistical integration, rebuilding damaged infrastructure, restoring states’ energy and petrochemical export capacities, and enhancing connectivity across airports, railways, ports, roads, and communications networks.
