Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing brutalities in Gaza and urged the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on Tel Aviv, including an arms-and-trade embargo for its genocidal acts against Palestinians.
He also slammed Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon, which it has also invaded in a ground incursion. Israel claims it is targeting military positions of Hezbollah, but its indiscriminate strikes have struck homes and buildings across southern and eastern Lebanon, killing hundreds of civilians, including children. The Pakistani premier is not alone in his condemnations; countries across the globe have voiced concerns over a wider regional conflict, with fears mounting of an all-out war in the Middle East. Recent tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran have only added to these concerns.
A key worry as the Gulf marches toward war is how it could shape the regional dynamics. Not too long ago, Arabs in the Gulf, led by Saudi Arabia, looked to the U.S. for protection against conflict. This changed in February 2021, when Washington withdrew its support for offensive operations of Saudis and their allies, indicating a reorientation of U.S. policy away from unconditional support for the coalition’s military campaign in Yemen and other regions. This situation pushed Saudi Arabia to alter its own approach, seeking negotiated solution to conflicts. The U.A.E. had, similarly, largely limited itself in 2019 to cultivating political groups and militias in southern Yemen that would be beholden to Abu Dhabi. A sustained conflict between Israel and Arab states would have significant, long-lasting consequences.
Meanwhile, the growing tensions between Iran and Israel have re-ignited debate on nuclear-weapons proliferation in the Middle East. While neither state officially acknowledges the possession of nuclear arms, both are widely believed to possess some capability, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman having earlier warned that if Iran assembles a nuclear bomb, his country would have no choice but to do likewise. A potential arms race in the Middle East could prove catastrophic, with widespread global security implications and severe economic consequences. For Gulf states, it could seriously undermine their ongoing focus on trade and tourism, diverting resources earmarked for sustainable development initiatives to nuclear technology, and also undo recent progress in reducing tensions with Iran. The new conflict arising in the Gulf will not only threaten the region but also world trade, which means most economic damage coming to the states of the Indian Ocean.