Former U.S. Envoy Urges Gulf States to Fill Diplomatic Gap with Iran Amid Stalled Talks

KABUL: Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, is calling on Gulf Cooperation Council member states to step into the diplomatic vacuum left by the suspension of direct talks between Washington and Tehran, warning that the absence of negotiations is generating mounting economic and security costs across the Gulf region.

In a statement posted on X, Khalilzad posed the question directly: could Gulf nations initiate their own dialogue with Tehran, focused on maintaining open shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz and tackling the region’s broader security challenges? His framing positions Gulf governments not as bystanders but as potential decision-makers with both the capacity and the moment to act.

The governance question at the center of his argument is straightforward. Who fills the regulatory and diplomatic space when the two principal powers disengage? Khalilzad’s answer is the GCC, acting collectively and with Washington’s backing.

Any such initiative, he emphasized, would require alignment with the Trump administration. He framed this not as a constraint but as a practical necessity, making clear that successful regional diplomacy depends on coordination with U.S. policy objectives. Gulf states, in other words, would need to operate within a framework sanctioned by Washington’s leadership, not outside it.

Khalilzad’s assessment of U.S. policy is pointed. He described Washington’s approach as an attempt to impose “economic isolation” on Tehran, arguing that this pressure has produced results while simultaneously creating conditions in which regional diplomacy could take root. The combination, he suggested, could allow Gulf states to pursue negotiations from a position of strength rather than vulnerability.

Meanwhile, he drew a direct parallel to existing security arrangements. The United States has previously supported cooperative security efforts involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. A comparable undertaking focused on the Strait of Hormuz and regional stability could operate on similar principles, leveraging the same collaborative framework that has proven workable in other contexts.

The former special representative’s remarks carry an implicit accountability dimension. Gulf governments, in his reading, are not passive recipients of geopolitical conditions shaped elsewhere. They are actors with mandates, resources and strategic interests that the current deadlock actively harms. The costs of continued inaction, he suggested, fall on Gulf economies and security environments in ways that are tangible and growing.

His comments also carry a time pressure. The convergence of U.S. economic pressure on Iran, the absence of bilateral negotiations, and the current regional environment together constitute what Khalilzad called an “appropriate opportunity.” That window, his analysis implies, is not indefinite. Whether GCC governments will treat his call as an actionable policy recommendation, or whether Washington will formally signal support for such a regional initiative, remains the central question his remarks leave open.