WANA (Nov 04) – The 21st annual Manama Dialogue in Bahrain has once again become a stage for growing coordination between the United States, Israel, and several Arab governments, aimed at reshaping the regional security order and reviving the normalization process with Tel Aviv.

 

According to international observers, the forum — organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) since 2004 — has increasingly evolved into a diplomatic-security tool for Washington’s Middle East strategy. This year’s event, attended by senior U.S., European, and Arab officials, including U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, reflected a clear alignment of positions on Iran.

 

Analysts say Washington is using the Manama Dialogue to advance two main strategic goals:

 

1. Reviving Arab-Israeli normalization following its complete halt after the “Al-Aqsa Storm” operation;

 

2. Redefining the containment of Iran through multi-layered regional alliances, thereby avoiding direct military confrontation.

 

In recent years — especially since the signing of the Abraham Accords — the Manama Dialogue has increasingly served as a platform linking normalization efforts to joint Arab-Israeli deterrence strategies. Washington aims to institutionalize this process across diplomatic, defense, cyber, and energy domains.

 

Statements and discussions during this year’s session suggest that the U.S. seeks to replace costly wars with a new regional security framework based on shared burden and localized deterrence. In this model, Washington transfers operational and financial responsibilities to its regional partners in the Gulf while maintaining overall strategic control.

 

Local sources also reported that representatives of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC attended the meeting and held side discussions with Arab officials. The choice of Bahrain — one of the first Arab states to normalize relations with Israel — carried a deliberate political message: Arab capitals are increasingly accepting open cooperation with Tel Aviv within a U.S.-led regional architecture.

Manama Summit 2025. Social Media / WANA News Agency

Manama Summit 2025. Social Media / WANA News Agency

Tulsi Gabbard’s Speech: From “Regime Change” to “Hybrid Warfare”

Among the key speakers, Tulsi Gabbard, serving as the U.S. Director of National Intelligence under the Trump administration, delivered remarks focused largely on Iran and Washington’s evolving foreign policy.

 

Gabbard claimed that the decades-long U.S. strategy of regime change has ended, replaced by an approach centered on diplomacy and deterrence. “The old policies of regime change and nation-building should be left in the rearview mirror,” she said, adding that the costly wars in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan “weakened America’s own security.”

 

However, she also acknowledged that political, economic, and security pressure on Tehran remains a central element of U.S. foreign policy — signaling not an end to containment efforts, but a shift in methods. According to Gabbard, the new strategy emphasizes transactional diplomacy, deterrence, and containment rather than direct military occupation.

 

Attempting to project a more peaceful image of U.S. policy, she added: “Putting America first means building peace through negotiation, not endless wars.” Yet observers noted the irony, as the Trump administration simultaneously signaled plans for expanded military activity in Latin America and Africa.

 

Regional analysts concluded that this year’s Manama Dialogue functioned less as a forum for collective security discussions and more as a command platform for Washington’s emerging regional strategy — one that places Iran, once again, at the center of U.S. and Israeli security calculations.