Doha: A session of the Doha Forum 2025 held yesterday discussed defense policy, security, mediation in conflicts, and peacebuilding, under the title“Iran and the Changing Regional Security Environment.”

The session featured GCC Secretary-General H E Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, former Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Mohammad Javad Zarif, and Director of the Institute of International Affairs in Italy Nathalie Tocci. The session was moderated by Executive Vice-President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington. Dr. Trita Parsi.

The GCC Secretary-General affirmed the Council's keenness on Iran's stability and prosperity, stressing that no one in the GCC wished to see Iran collapse.

AlBudaiwi noted that the Gulf states had, over the past seven to eight decades, transformed into the world's ninth-largest economy, and expressed the GCC's desire to share these development experiences with Iran. Zarif affirmed that Iran was capable of overcoming crises despite the challenges it had faced throughout history.

He said that Iran had always been willing to engage in dialogue, referencing his 2017 proposal for a Regional Dialogue Forum (RDF) based on the UN Charter, good neighbourliness, non-interference, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. He stressed the need to institutionalise the ongoing discussions between Iran and the GCC states and to build a shared vision for the future.

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