TEHRAN — The war with Iran has shown that Persian Gulf Arab states should not rely solely on their strategic partnership with the United States to ensure their security, according to Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari.

“We need to realize in the (Persian) Gulf that having international forces in the region, having a strategic alliance with the US is very important, but it is not enough,” al-Ansari said at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi. “Self-sufficiency when it comes to security is the only way forward.”

Al-Ansari’s comments reflect a sobering reality across the region against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war that began on February 28. Throughout the conflict, Iranian missile and drone strikes have directly targeted American military installations across the Persian Gulf. The fact that heavily fortified US bases—long viewed as the ultimate defensive shield—were themselves vulnerable to sustained attacks highlights that Washington cannot single-handedly safeguard its own assets, let alone guarantee the absolute security of neighboring Persian Gulf Arab nations.

This exposure of Western defense limits signals a crucial turning point for Persian Gulf foreign policy. Relying on external powers offers a false sense of security during major hostilities, making regional defense self-sufficiency an urgent necessity rather than an ambition. To secure long-term stability, nations in the area must build independent defense capabilities and significantly deepen direct security cooperation among neighboring states, forging a unified regional framework free from foreign interference.