Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has seized the diplomatic initiative in the Gulf by issuing a message that directly addresses the region’s governments and ties their futures to their choices about hosting enemy military forces. His statement, made more than a month into the Iran-US war, marks a significant shift in Iran’s approach to the regional diplomatic dimension of the conflict. Tehran is clearly no longer content to let events dictate the diplomatic agenda.

The war has created significant challenges for Gulf governments including those of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. Their hosting of US military infrastructure has made them targets of Iranian retaliatory strikes, creating a deeply complex and costly situation. Gulf governments are now under pressure to find a way to address the conflict without alienating either their American ally or their Iranian neighbour.

Pezeshkian posted on X to communicate Iran’s firm but restrained military stance, while making a targeted appeal to Gulf leaders. He argued that the path to genuine development and security lay in denying enemy forces the use of Gulf territory for military operations. The message was designed to give Gulf governments a clear and actionable choice.

Pakistan’s diplomatic role has been central and consequential, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif serving as an active and effective intermediary between Iran and other regional parties. His meeting with Pezeshkian produced the finding that Iran views trust as the non-negotiable foundation for any formal peace process. Pakistan’s contributions have been praised by Tehran.

A major multilateral diplomatic gathering in Pakistan is bringing together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey for strategic deliberations on the conflict. Their discussions with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Prime Minister Sharif aim to produce a coordinated regional approach to ending the war. The talks are one of the most important diplomatic events of the conflict so far.