At the IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, UAE and Egyptian officials cautioned that renewed fighting with Iran could deepen the regional crisis rather than resolve it. UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash called for a political off-ramp, while Egypt’s foreign minister warned that another round could be more destructive. Qatar-led mediation was continuing, but reporting said it had not produced a definitive agreement.
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Officials urged a political way out
Gargash said the UAE had worked diplomatically to avert the crisis and was seeking a political off-ramp. He also said the country hoped for a diplomatic breakthrough but was “braced for the worst” and did not want another round of military confrontation.
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Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned on October 31, the day before the dialogue’s closing date, that he was “extremely worried” renewed escalation would be more destructive and have a major impact.
13 Bahrain, meanwhile, called for a regional security framework open to Iran.
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The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general urged Iran to respond to peace efforts, according to reporting from the forum. That is evidence of a call to engage with those efforts, rather than enough to establish a broader GCC demand for “reciprocal diplomacy.”
Retaliation warnings sharpened fears of escalation
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly instructed military commanders on October 31 to respond to renewed threats immediately and “without geographical limits.”
21 In the context of Gulf officials’ concerns about another round of fighting, the warning pointed to the possibility that retaliation could extend beyond the immediate parties to the conflict.
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The available reporting supports concern about potentially fiercer retaliation, but does not establish the full account of attacks on every Gulf state and Jordan or the specific list of oil facilities, airports and power plants described in some broader claims.
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Qatar-led mediation was active, not settled
Mediators had visited Tehran, and an Iranian delegation was in Doha, but Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was no definitive conclusion to the efforts.
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The proposals under discussion tied reopening the Strait of Hormuz to conditions including an end to hostilities, lifting restrictions on Iranian ports and releasing frozen Iranian assets.
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19 Araghchi was also reported to say the strait could reopen within two days rather than the proposed seven-day timetable if Iran’s conditions were accepted. That was a conditional proposal, not an agreed reopening.
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The picture from Manama was therefore one of diplomacy still in progress alongside serious escalation concerns. Officials called for a political solution; the available reporting did not show that a settlement had been reached.
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