US envoy Tom Barrack says Washington is no longer the guarantor of Gulf security

Summary

At the Global Security Forum in Doha on Tuesday, US ambassador to Turkey and Trump's special envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack said America's role as the world's guarantor for the last 80 years "is no longer there". According to Middle East Eye, the US no longer wants its "grand bargain" with the Arabian Gulf, under which it provided security in exchange for oil, and is "transitioning" to a new approach, which he described as "like raising a teenager". Barrack also said the US "no longer wants to own" the region and that Western manipulation of the region through fossil fuels "is not in existence anymore". Asked whether Gulf states could rely on the US security umbrella set up after World War II, he said no. The report notes that Gulf states lobbied Washington not to attack Iran alongside Israel earlier this year, but their pleas were rejected, and that Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain faced thousands of missile and drone strikes from Iran in retaliation for the US-Israeli attack on 28 February.

Timeline

1. Middle East Eye

   20 Oct 2026, 19:13 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that Tom Barrack said on Tuesday at the Global Security Forum in Doha that Washington's role as world guarantor for eight decades "is no longer there" and that the US is shifting its Gulf security approach in a change he likened to "raising a teenager".

2. Middle East Eye

   20 Oct 2026, 20:37 UTCSource ↗

   Publishes a live-blog update on the same Barrack remarks, reporting that the US no longer wants its "grand bargain" with the Arabian Gulf and is "transitioning" to a new approach.