The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud (on the right), and his Qatari counterpart, Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, attend the consultative ministerial meeting in Riyadh, on March 19, 2026. (Fayez Nureldine/AFP)
As foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries met Thursday in Riyadh, Iran launched missiles toward the Saudi capital.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan then called his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, sharply criticizing the move and asking, “What kind of madness are you engaging in? We are holding a meeting for you and to stop the war; do you want to target us and widen the conflict by involving new countries?”The Gulf countries, among Iran's main targets since the start of the war, are particularly angered and are threatening a military response. The war is also reinforcing their view of the need to build a cohesive Arab alliance to confront both Iranian and Israeli ambitions in the region.For them, this means moving beyond longstanding divisions and internal sensitivities.Many assumptions have been upended. Since the...
As foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries met Thursday in Riyadh, Iran launched missiles toward the Saudi capital.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan then called his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, sharply criticizing the move and asking, “What kind of madness are you engaging in? We are holding a meeting for you and to stop the war; do you want to target us and widen the conflict by involving new countries?”The Gulf countries, among Iran's main targets since the start of the war, are particularly angered and are threatening a military response. The war is also reinforcing their view of the need to build a cohesive Arab alliance to confront both Iranian and Israeli ambitions in the region.For them, this means moving beyond longstanding divisions and internal sensitivities.Many assumptions have been upended. Since...
