WASHINGTON: Pakistan called for an immediate end to military provocations in the Gulf and renewed regional diplomacy as the United States, Iran and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries traded sharp accusations at a UN Security Council meeting over attacks against shipping and threats to maritime security.
The debate highlighted growing concerns that the confrontation could disrupt international trade, energy supplies and food shipments while increasing the risk of a wider regional conflict.
Addressing the council on Friday, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Syed Haider Shah, condemned attacks against Gulf countries and called for respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity, the protection of civilians and commercial shipping, and the restoration of normal maritime traffic.
He specifically condemned Houthi militia attacks and threats against Saudi Arabia, including strikes targeting civilian infrastructure and vessels engaged in lawful trade, while reaffirming Pakistan’s support for the kingdom’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
Highlighting the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandab Strait, Shah warned that threats to maritime navigation endangered seafarers, disrupted international commerce and worsened energy and food insecurity, particularly in vulnerable economies.
He called for protecting commercial vessels and crews, respecting freedom of navigation and ensuring the safe, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian supplies.
Lasting peace, he said, required addressing the underlying causes of regional conflicts through a framework based on common security, peaceful coexistence and mutual prosperity.
He urged all parties to end attacks, maintain communication channels and support diplomatic initiatives, including the UN secretary-general’s good offices.
Meanwhile, the US and Iran offered sharply contrasting accounts of the crisis, each blaming the other for growing threats to maritime security.
Iranian Ambassador Gholamhossein Darzi accused Western council members of ignoring the origins of the confrontation and attempting to reverse the roles of aggressor and victim, identifying unprovoked wars launched by the US and Israel on June 13, 2025, and Feb 28, 2026, as the root causes of current insecurity.
Recalling the attacks on Iran, Darzi said they violated international law and targeted the country’s supreme leader, government officials, nuclear scientists and civilian infrastructure.
He put the Iranian death toll at 5,000, including 254 children, and described the attacks as war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The insecurity surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is a direct consequence of these acts,” Darzi said.
While insisting Iran remained committed to peace in the Persian Gulf, he argued that foreign military forces were a major source of instability and a threat to maritime safety.
He rejected Security Council Resolution 2817, calling it politically motivated and accusing it of denying Iran’s right to self-defence.
Tehran had not closed the door to diplomacy, he said, but Washington must end its military actions, provide credible guarantees against their repetition and lift unlawful coercive measures.
In contrast, US Ambassador Jennifer Locetta accused Iran of aggression against its neighbours and threats to international shipping.
“The regime attacks its neighbours, fires on commercial ships, arms terrorist proxies and defies this council at every turn,” she said, adding that Iranian missiles, drones and unlawful mines in the Strait of Hormuz, along with attacks in the Bab el-Mandab Strait, threatened global energy and food security.
Citing Resolution 2817, which demanded that Iran stop attacks on shipping and neighbouring states and attracted 136 co-sponsors, Locetta said Tehran was defying global opinion.
“Iran ignores this council. It ignores the overwhelming opinion of the international community,” she said, accusing Houthis of attacking Saudi airports and energy installations, imposing an illegal maritime embargo in the Bab el-Mandab Strait and violating Resolution 2216.
The GCC presented its own account of the attacks against its member states.
GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said Gulf countries had faced more than 7,000 Iranian missiles and drones since Feb 28, targeting airports, ports, oil and gas facilities, power stations, water desalination plants and residential neighbourhoods, causing deaths, injuries, extensive property damage and serious environmental repercussions in the Arabian Gulf.
Describing the strikes as flagrant violations of GCC members’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, Albudaiwi said they required council action to ensure they stopped.
Earlier, speaking on behalf of the GCC, Bahrain’s Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei welcomed mediation by Oman, Qatar and Pakistan and reaffirmed the bloc’s commitment to de-escalation.
“The security of the GCC states is indivisible,” he said, insisting Gulf countries must participate in any regional security negotiations.
Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2026
