Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has made a powerful case to Gulf leaders that true sovereignty means having the will to say no to US military wars being conducted from their territory. His post on X, shared over a month into the Iran-US conflict, framed Gulf sovereignty as the central issue of the current crisis. Pezeshkian argued that Gulf nations cannot claim to be truly sovereign while allowing their land to be used as a platform for a foreign military campaign.
Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman have found their sovereignty compromised by the presence of US military bases from which strikes against Iran have been launched. Tehran has responded with retaliatory attacks in those countries, further complicating the sovereignty question for governments whose territory has become an active zone of war. The conflict has exposed deep tensions in the Gulf between national sovereignty and security alliance obligations.
Pezeshkian confirmed that Iran does not engage in preemptive attacks and only retaliates when its economic or infrastructure assets are struck. He made his sovereignty argument clearly: a government that cannot say no to foreign military use of its land is not truly sovereign. His case to Gulf leaders is both a philosophical argument about independence and a practical call to action.
Pakistan’s mediation has been welcomed and praised by Tehran. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that Pezeshkian emphasized trust as the non-negotiable starting point for any peace negotiations. Pakistan has organized a major multilateral ministerial meeting in Islamabad with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey to deliberate on de-escalation strategies.
Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar will lead the discussions and arrange separate meetings with Prime Minister Sharif. Iran has praised Pakistan’s mediation as sincere and constructive. Pezeshkian’s sovereignty argument, combined with Pakistan’s diplomatic push, creates a compelling framework for Gulf governments to reconsider their current strategic positions.