The Gulf Under Fire… Where Are the Arabs?

As I See 

Adel El-Baz

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Today, the peoples of the Gulf have every right to ask: Where are the Arabs? And where is Arab solidarity?

For more than two weeks, Gulf states and their capitals have been subjected to bombardment and direct threats. Some countries now face challenges that threaten their very existence. In one of the most critical moments in their modern history, Gulf states look around them only to find pale statements declaring solidarity in words, but translating none of it into action.

Why is this happening?

The positions of Gulf states toward what is often called the Arab and Islamic world are no secret. For decades, these countries have stood at the forefront of support for Arab causes. During the 1973 war, they halted oil exports, despite the enormous economic losses and risks that decision entailed. Throughout decades of the Arab-Israeli conflict, they supported the Palestinian cause politically and financially. Their assistance also extended to most Arab countries during economic crises and natural disasters. At the same time, they opened their doors to millions of Arabs who found in the Gulf opportunities for work and a dignified life.

In short, Gulf states have never failed the Arab world.

So where is the reciprocity today, as they face a direct threat from a neighbor that violates their security? Why this troubling Arab silence?

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Arab countries are not being asked to send fleets or enter the war. But they could at least demonstrate genuine solidarity that goes beyond cold diplomatic statements. Several steps could have been taken:

• An urgent call for an Arab summit to condemn the Iranian aggression against sisterly Gulf states that are not parties to the ongoing conflict.
• A collective Arab diplomatic initiative to press for an end to the war before its flames spread across the entire region.
• The dispatch of a high-level Arab delegation to visit Gulf countries affected by the bombardment.
• Speaking with one voice to Iran to make clear that continued aggression will not pass without a unified Arab stance.

These steps—even if they did not stop the war—would have sent a powerful moral message to the peoples of the Gulf: that they are not alone, and that the nation they have supported for decades now stands beside them.

It would also have been possible to mobilize Arab public opinion through a day of Arab-Islamic solidarity, with demonstrations condemning Iranian aggression and demanding an end to the Zionist-American war that threatens the interests of all Gulf states.

Is it not shameful that Gulf states are asked to support Ukraine and Russia alike, while not a single Arab country steps forward to help—even with drones or air-defense systems?

(Of course, many will not be able to condemn the United States and Israel, since they were the ones who ignited the flames of war in the region and then left them burning.)

What the Gulf citizen feels today is not only fear of the future, but also a sense of isolation. The nearby neighbor—Iran—bombards them. The United States acts according to its own calculations. Israel does not conceal its ambitions for regional dominance. Meanwhile, the Arab world—once a voice for a single nation—now seems content merely to watch.

The least that could be done now is to call for an Arab-Islamic day of solidarity with the Gulf states, raising voices in rejection of the attacks against them and affirming that the security of the Gulf is not merely a Gulf issue, but a broader Arab and Islamic concern.

At a historical moment like this, silence is no longer an option; it becomes a silent crime against the entire nation. If the Arabs continue to watch the Gulf burn alone, it will mark the end of genuine Arab solidarity, and history will record that the nation abandoned one of its most vital parts in its darkest hour.

The security of the Gulf is not a Gulf luxury—it is the first line of defense for the dignity of the entire Arab nation and for the future of our generations in the face of regional ambitions and foreign intervention.

Today, more than ever, the people of the Gulf await an Arab stance that restores meaning to words and proves that “brotherhood” is not an empty slogan repeated in conferences, but an action measured in moments of real trial.

Will the nation act before it is too late? Or will it leave the Gulf to face the storm alone—only to find that tomorrow it is next on the list of victims?

The answer will not lie in statements of condemnation, but in actions taken now… or in a silence that will condemn us all forever.