{"id":1079803,"date":"2026-07-10T04:07:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1079803\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T04:07:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:07:30","slug":"eu-to-express-solidarity-with-gulf-states-at-high-level-meeting-in-brussels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1079803\/","title":{"rendered":"EU to express solidarity with Gulf states at high-level meeting in Brussels"},"content":{"rendered":"

The EU<\/a> is to offer solidarity with Gulf states caught in up the US-Iran war at a high-level meeting in Brussels on Monday, an European Commission representative has said.<\/p>\n

Kaja Kallas<\/a>, the bloc’s foreign affairs and security policy chief, will chair the EU-GCC High Level Forum on Regional Security and Co-operation, to be attended by Gulf ministers.<\/p>\n

High on the agenda at the third EU-GCC forum will be Iran’s latest attacks<\/a> on Gulf states, which picked up this week after the US carried out a new round of strikes on Iranian targets.<\/p>\n

The latest escalation between the US and Iran has threatened to engulf the entire region, as Iran on Thursday broadened its ballistic missile strikes by attacking a Jordanian airbase.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiscussions will also focus on ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and a sustainable arrangement for regional peace and stability,\u201d said EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni.<\/p>\n

European heads of state and EU institutional leaders, including European Council and Commission presidents Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, have paid several visits and calls to the Gulf since it came under Iranian attack in March.<\/p>\n

‘Regional stability’<\/b><\/p>\n

This demonstrates \u201ca show of solidarity and how committed we [the EU] are, and how unwavering our commitment is in terms of regional stability and regional security”, Mr El Anouni said.<\/p>\n

European leaders have been sidelined by the US and Israel<\/a> in regional diplomatic talks but want to be part of discussions on the new regional security system that will emerge from the US-Iran conflict. <\/p>\n

Questions were raised about broader American-Iranian peace talks after US President Donald Trump said an interim agreement signed last month was \u201cover\u201d.<\/p>\n

Announced on June 17, the preliminary agreement gave a 60-day window for shipping to resume through the strait toll-free before negotiations began in earnest over Iran’s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n

Having played a key role a decade ago in reaching a now-defunct nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, the EU has offered its expertise in finding a solution to bring an end to Iran’s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n

The bloc also has a defensive naval mission in the Red Sea, named Aspides<\/a>, which could complement a UK-French-led international defensive naval mission in Hormuz, which has yet to be sent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mark Rutte: Nato is ready to help our friends in the Gulf<\/p>\n

France, the UK and Oman have agreed for the mission to be stationed in Omani waters to protect commercial ships crossing the area. But the latest hostilities, which have involved Iranian attacks in Omani waters, could represent a new obstacle. <\/p>\n

A political contact group of about 30 countries that is part of the broader naval mission is expected to meet next week.<\/p>\n

‘Voluntary arrangements’<\/b><\/p>\n

Speaking on Thursday to the London-based International Maritime Organisation<\/a>, Oman repeated its commitment to freedom of navigation and international law to secure the free flow of international trade. <\/p>\n

Its position is complicated by its relations with Iran, which wants to impose shipping fees. The two countries lie on opposite sides of the strait.<\/p>\n

Omani authorities have dealt with 17 incidents and the evacuation of more than 300 seafarers throughout the Iran war, a delegation from the sultanate said. <\/p>\n

Muscat is also open to \u201cexploring voluntary arrangements relating to navigational support services that could further enhance maritime safety and security\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cSuch arrangements could draw upon international best practices and successful experiences in other strategically important maritime corridors,\u201d a statement read.<\/p>\n

Oman is understood to be pushing for a system resembling one shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in the Strait of Malacca. They charge vessels for any navigation and security services that are needed and have a fund that collects voluntary contributions for safe navigation. Oman said it recognised the central role of the IMO as the responsible international body. <\/p>\n

Neither Iran nor Oman \u2013 nor any other country \u2013 has requested a modification to the Traffic Separation Scheme, a maritime traffic management system run by the IMO.<\/p>\n

Western nations, including European ones, are adamantly opposed to tariffs and have yet to comment publicly on Oman’s push for alternatives.<\/p>\n

However, support has been strong for Oman, including in London. \u201cThe UK stands with Oman, with its sovereignty over its own territorial waters, and for the principle and the law of freedom of navigation, both in the Strait [of Hormuz] and across the world,\u201d said Hamish Falconer, the UK\u2019s Middle East minister, who said he had phone calls with the Gulf nations affected. \u201cWe stand with our partners in calling for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Hermer, the UK\u2019s Attorney General, told a Chatham House conference in London that the violations of international law would not make any nations of the Arabian Gulf better off. Those that have waged war have been damaged, Mr Hermer said. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo one can argue that any of the major antagonists to the current Gulf conflict are able to say that they are emerging stronger, richer or with their global reputations enhanced,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

New Framework <\/b><\/p>\n

Majed Al Ansari, the chief foreign policy adviser to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, told the conference that there could not be any resolution of the crisis that left any \u201cregional player as a hegemonic power\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere will not be an agreed deal that hands over the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d Mr Al Ansari said. \u201cOur view is that maritime security is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can’t afford in the region not to work towards some sort of diplomatic resolution out of this crisis. This war will not end with wishful thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, the US did not win this war, but that does not mean that other side did not lose. We are all losers in this war.”<\/p>\n

The IMO adopted a resolution on Thursday backed by dozens of nations. <\/p>\n

It repeated that \u201cany measures taken by coastal states to regulate traffic in vital shipping lanes, including the implementation of ships’ routing systems like traffic separation schemes, and ship reporting systems, must be in accordance with the regulations and standards adopted by the International Maritime Organisation\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The EU is to offer solidarity with Gulf states caught in up the US-Iran war at a high-level…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1079804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,299,5187,83259,1715,1426,33639],"class_list":["post-1079803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-eu","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-gcc","tag-standard","tag-story","tag-uk-bureau"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116893715523429537","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1079803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1079804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1079803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1079803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1079803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}