NATO headquarters in Brussels with 32 flags
NATO Invites Four Gulf States to Ankara Summit Amid Iran War and Transatlantic Rift
Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE are set to attend the July 7–8 alliance gathering in Turkey — a shift that signals the Gulf is no longer a peripheral file but a central pillar of Euro-Atlantic security architecture.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is planning to invite representatives from four Gulf states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — to its summit in Ankara, with the Iran war and the widening transatlantic rift expected to dominate the agenda, according to people familiar with the matter.
All four countries are members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, a partnership between NATO and non-member states in the broader Middle East. Their foreign ministers are expected to be invited to the meeting in Turkey’s capital scheduled for July 7–8, according to individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks remain confidential. NATO’s press office declined to comment.
The meeting comes in the wake of growing transatlantic tensions over the war in Iran, after President Donald Trump publicly criticised NATO allies for failing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and later announced the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany.
One of the driving rationales, according to a source, is NATO’s plan to bolster its so-called southern flank — particularly in the context of the ongoing war in Iran.
The summit itself will consist of one core session restricted to the alliance’s 32 leaders, mirroring the format of the previous year. While inviting leaders from other nations — including Indo-Pacific partners or Ukraine — is being considered, they would participate only in side events. For the second year running, the summit is being planned in an extremely condensed format to accommodate the US president’s schedule.
Alliance members are also debating whether to hold summits less frequently than once a year — a practice established before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — though no consensus has emerged. Planning is expected to be firmed up when NATO foreign ministers convene in Sweden next week.
NATO’s intention to extend invitations to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE to participate in the Ankara Summit is a step carrying profound strategic implications. It reflects that the Gulf is no longer viewed in the West as a separate regional file, but as a direct part of the broader security environment linked to Europe and Atlantic security.
The matter is not merely about protocol invitations — it signals a fundamental shift in the way NATO defines sources of threat and global centres of gravity following the Iranian war and tensions in Hormuz and the Red Sea.
- Gulf security has become part of European-Atlantic security. Any disruption in the Gulf now immediately impacts energy, supply chains, maritime navigation, the European economy, and even political stability within the West itself.
- Threats are no longer solely traditional. Focus has shifted from conventional armies to drones, missiles, cyber warfare, threats to maritime passages, energy infrastructure, and submarine cables — all files in which Gulf countries are now central.
- Gulf countries are active security players, not passive recipients. They possess advanced military capabilities, intelligence networks, financial and technological influence, and the ability to impact global market stability.
- NATO seeks to prevent Gulf drift toward China. The invitations reflect a Western attempt to prevent Gulf states from sliding toward entirely alternative security arrangements with Beijing or other Asian powers.
- The choice of Ankara carries additional weight. Turkey is presenting itself as a bridge between NATO, the Middle East, and the Islamic world — and is capitalising on the current transformations to bolster its own position within the new security architecture forming after the war.
“We are witnessing a gradual transition from the concept of ‘protecting the Gulf’ to the concept of ‘partnering with the Gulf in managing global security.’ This is a very significant shift in the Western strategic doctrine toward the region.”
Dr. Al-Ketbi further notes that this step reflects an intellectual shift within NATO itself. The recent war exposed a decline in America’s ability to manage the regional system single-handedly, and thus NATO seeks to more deeply reconnect the Gulf with the Atlantic system. The Gulf is no longer viewed merely as a source of crises, but as part of the engineering of international stability.
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