A long-standing armed adversarial relationship that became a maritime one in July 2026.
Defence
Open the full relationship record →Conflict coverage · Iran–Gulf
Relationships
The standing arrangements between the actors in this module, each as a record with its own dates, sources and confidence: what the arrangement covers, when it began, what last changed it, and what remains unclear. Vigil publishes no measure of how strong or how hostile a relationship is — the description and its evidence are the record.
A mutually declared adversarial relationship since 1979, in open armed conflict since 2026.
DefenceDiplomatic
Open the full relationship record →A declared adversarial relationship standing since 1980, in open armed conflict since 28 February 2026.
DefenceDiplomatic
Open the full relationship record →Bahrain hosts the United States Navy's Fifth Fleet and the Combined Maritime Forces under a long-standing bilateral arrangement.
BasingDefence
Open the full relationship record →Kuwait hosts the principal United States logistics and airlift concentration in the region under a bilateral arrangement.
BasingDefence
Open the full relationship record →Qatar hosts the forward headquarters of United States Central Command under a bilateral arrangement.
BasingDefence
Open the full relationship record →A joint defence agreement signed in Mecca on 7 August 2026, with terms that have not been published.
DefenceInstitutional
Open the full relationship record →A joint defence agreement signed in Mecca on 7 August 2026, with terms that have not been published.
DefenceInstitutional
Open the full relationship record →A Strategic Defense Agreement signed in November 2025, with Saudi Arabia designated a major non-NATO ally.
DefenceEquipment transferInstitutional
Open the full relationship record →Established in 1971 and never interrupted — the most durable Iran channel in the Gulf.
Diplomatic
Open the full relationship record →The Gulf's most active Iran channel, maintained through the 2026 war and used for mediation.
Diplomatic
Open the full relationship record →Relations restored in 2023 after seven years of rupture, and not formally severed by the 2026 war.
Diplomatic
Open the full relationship record →Relations held at a reduced level since 2016 and suspended when the UAE closed its embassy in Tehran on 1 March 2026.
Diplomatic
Open the full relationship record →Iran's external oil earnings depend on Chinese buyers to a degree no other market replaces.
EnergyTradeFinance
Open the full relationship record →A founding member, and the member that carried the Council’s case to the Security Council.
InstitutionalDiplomaticDefenceTrade
Open the full relationship record →Iran's safeguards relationship with the IAEA is suspended in practice: the Agency stopped verification activities on 28 February 2026 and has inspected one power reactor since.
Legal and treatyInstitutionalDiplomatic
Open the full relationship record →A founding member, and the member whose civilian infrastructure the war hit hardest.
InstitutionalDiplomaticDefenceTrade
Open the full relationship record →A founding member that has kept an independent Iran policy throughout.
InstitutionalDiplomaticDefenceTrade
Open the full relationship record →A founding member, blockaded by three fellow members between 2017 and 2021.
InstitutionalDiplomaticDefenceTrade
Open the full relationship record →A founding member, and the member whose 2026 security choices ran outside the Council.
InstitutionalDiplomaticDefenceTrade
Open the full relationship record →A founding member whose 2026 energy and security choices diverged sharply from its partners.
InstitutionalDiplomaticDefenceTrade
Open the full relationship record →A long-reported supply relationship whose current content, and whose degree of direction, Vigil cannot establish.
Equipment transfer
Open the full relationship record →The European Union reimposed its restrictive measures on Iran by Council decision on 29 September 2025.
FinanceTradeLegal and treatyDiplomatic
Open the full relationship record →A standing United States sanctions architecture on Iran, extended during the 2026 war to buyers of Iranian oil.
FinanceTradeEnergyLegal and treaty
Open the full relationship record →Normalised in 2020 and deepened during the 2026 war, when Israeli air-defence systems were deployed to Emirati territory.
DefenceIntelligenceEquipment transfer
Open the full relationship record →A dispute over Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, standing since 1971.
DiplomaticLegal and treaty
Open the full relationship record →Descriptive records, not ratings. There is no field anywhere in this layer for relationship strength, warmth, hostility or direction of travel, and none may be added. Change is carried by the validity period, the recorded last material change and the linked events — each of which a reader can check. See the methodology.