{"id":2165,"date":"2024-08-31T08:58:20","date_gmt":"2024-08-31T08:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/?post_type=workshop&#038;p=2165"},"modified":"2025-07-01T11:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T11:05:09","slug":"iran-israeli-rivalry-2025","status":"publish","type":"workshop","link":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/workshop\/iran-israeli-rivalry-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran-Israeli Rivalry: Impact on the Gulf Region and GCC Countries\u2019 Policies and Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This workshop explores the impact of the enduring Iran-Israel rivalry, increasing escalation, and potential confrontation between Tehran and Tel Aviv on the Gulf region and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries\u2019 foreign policies, defense options, security agendas, economic situation, and energy policies.<\/p>\n<p>The primary goal of this workshop is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the implications of the Iranian-Israeli rivalry and potential confrontation between them on the Gulf region as well as the policies and strategies of the Arab Gulf states on several fronts. The workshop aspires to present realistic, balanced, and holistic views and analyses incorporating a range of perspectives, especially those emerging from the Arab Gulf states, with forward-thinking and strategic insights in relation to this rivalry. This includes the exploration of the opportunities, challenges, limitations, and broader implications of this rivalry on the Gulf region and GCC states.<\/p>\n<p>The significance of this workshop is underscored by several pivotal events that have transpired in recent months. Notably, the April 2024 incident in which Israel targeted Iran\u2019s diplomatic complex in Syria marked a critical escalation, perceived as a violation of established norms (rules of the game) with Iran and its proxies. Iran\u2019s response was highlighted in an unprecedented and untraditional move when it executed a well-communicated, face-saving attack against Israel, employing drones and ballistic missiles for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>The second significant event is the assassination of Ismael Haniyyeh, the head of Hamas&#8217;s political bureau, which took place in an IRGC-operated guesthouse in Tehran during the inauguration ceremony of the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkiyan on July 31. The nature of Iran&#8217;s subsequent response remains uncertain. These developments have intensified Iranian-Israeli tensions and heightened the likelihood of direct confrontation between the two sides.<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, there is an increased risk that the Gulf region and the GCC states may find themselves caught in the crossfire of this rivalry for influence and dominance while ill-prepared to face its implications. This concern is further exacerbated by the actions of pro-Iranian Houthis in Yemen, who have launched strikes against Israeli targets, while Israeli jets have, for the first time, targeted locations in Yemen.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop becomes more relevant in light of the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November 2024, which may herald the potential return of former President Trump. This development could have significant ramifications for Iranian-Israeli rivalry and the broader geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, particularly regarding the Gulf region.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop&#8217;s key themes will include how the Iran-Israel rivalry and potential confrontation between them would affect the Abraham Accords, Saudi-Iranian normalization, GCC countries\u2019 alliances and alignments with regional and international powers, and the Arab Gulf nations\u2019 considerations, policies, options, and strategies regarding foreign affairs, defense, security, economy, energy, technology, and sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>Depending on the quality and the number of the accepted papers, the workshop proceedings will deliver a special-issue in scholarly journal. As an alternative, we have a host of book-publication options that we can utilize through our connections, whether in Routledge, Lexington, or Palgrave McMillan publishing houses, or with other distinguished publishers. The proposed manuscript would represent one of the first attempts to engage comprehensively with the various aspects of Iranian\u2013Israeli rivalry and its impact on the Gulf region and the policies of the GCC states.<\/p>\n<p>We invite submissions that address one or more of the following topics related to the workshop\u2019s primary research questions. Topics for these themes and their related sub-themes could include, and are not limited to, the following questions and topics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Abraham Accords: <\/strong>How viable are the Abraham Accords in the current dynamics? To what extent can they benefit the Arab Gulf governments from a military and security perspective? What are the prospects for Saudi-Israeli normalization in this context? What about those countries that did not join the Abraham Accords? Will the Iranian-Israeli rivalry and potential confrontation convince them to join, or will it have a counter effect?<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Saudi-Iran normalization: <\/strong>What is the impact of the Israeli- Iranians escalations on it? What is its fate? How might the potential re-emergence of former President Trump impact this normalization? Is it going to survive the current regional dynamics or not? And why?<\/li>\n<li><strong>The defense and security strategies of the GCC states:<\/strong> What new approaches or frameworks of alignments, diversifications, security arrangements, and defense strategies and options might the Gulf States explore to bolster their defense capabilities and security in the face of Iran-Israeli escalation? Will these be at country- or GCC-level or a mixture of both?<\/li>\n<li><strong>The GCC states\u2019 behavior in scenarios of war\/revival of the JCPOA: <\/strong>What are the implications of each of these scenarios on the GCC states? Are they ready for either of them? What would be their position? How would they react and behave in such scenarios?<\/li>\n<li><strong>The GCC states\u2019 ties with the US, Europe, China, Russia, Turkey, India, and Pakistan: <\/strong>How might the rivalry between Tehran and Tel Aviv affect the nature of the Arab Gulf countries\u2019 relationship with these regional and international actors? In what way? On which realm? And for what reasons?<\/li>\n<li><strong>The GCC states\u2019 role in neighboring regions: <\/strong>What are the implications of the rivalry between Iran and Israel on the GCC states\u2019 role, position, and interests in the neighboring regions such as the Horn of Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Indo-Pacific regions? How would this rivalry impact the great power competition in the Gulf region and the relationship between those great powers and the GCC countries.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The economic diversification and sustainability efforts in the Gulf:<\/strong> How does the rivalry between Iran and Israel as well as the potential confrontation between them impact GCC economies? How would it affect the diversifications strategies as well as their efforts to ensure energy security, tackle climate change and water scarcity? What is the impact of such regional environment on their sustainability efforts and the transition to renewables sources? How can they safeguard their economic priorities and ensure long-term resilience and prosperity in the face of yet another potential regional escalation and war?<\/li>\n<li><strong>The socio-political situation in Iraq and Yemen: <\/strong>The Iranian-Israeli rivalry has already dragged several countries into the conflict, including Iraq and Yemen.\u00a0 The GCC states, as key stakeholders in the region, will need to consider the socio-political ramifications of this rivalry on these states and explore ways to support sustainable peace and economic efforts in Iraq and Yemen. How can this\u00a0 be done? What is needed to advance in this area?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran-Israel Rivalry: Impact on the Gulf Region and GCC Countries\u2019 Policies and Strategies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2325,"template":"","workshop_theme":[43],"class_list":["post-2165","workshop","type-workshop","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","workshop_theme-geopolitics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workshop\/2165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workshop"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/workshop"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"workshop_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfif.org\/app\/gss-workshops\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/workshop_theme?post=2165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}