Dr. Janice Stein

And here's the reason.

You know, the representatives of the Gulf states were so angry.

But when you, I asked each one of them,

You know, what kind of security guarantee are we getting from the United States?

What did it mean?

You know, we host American bases.

You know, and we said with a lot of anger.

And I said, well, what's next?

Do you have another option?

And the voices would become very quiet.

And they'd say, no, not really.

And who is that option, Peter?

It's not Russia.

It's not China.

And frankly, it's not the British, given how little investment they've made over the last decade in the kind of assets they would need to really provide a meaningful security guarantee.

And look, Keir Starmer said, you know, he's convened a conference

on how the Strait would be reopened.

But he's very clear, once the war stops, that's not, that's cold comfort to the members of the Gulf.

And I take one more minute on that one.

He was what we would call today the Deputy Minister in External Affairs, as it was then called.