The Gulf after Iran-Israel conflict: A new regional security order in the making?

The conflict in 2026 in the Middle East has fundamentally altered the strategic landscape of the Gulf region. More than a temporary military confrontation, the conflict exposed the vulnerabilities of the existing regional security architecture, challenged age-old assumptions about deterrence, and accelerated the pace of Gulf states’ pursuit of strategic autonomy. For decades, the Gulf monarchies relied on the security guarantees provided by the United States, along with diplomatic balancing with Iran and expanding economic diversification to preserve stability. The current conflict has shown that none of these factors alone can protect the region from the consequences of great-power rivalry…