The risk of war has become a major threat to all states of the Persian Gulf as political elites link security with the survival of their regimes. In fact, concern for survival provokes ideological disputes and conflicting interests among global and regional actors. Middle Eastern regimes pursue military capability-building, deterrence strategies, or ways to reduce the power of other states to mitigate fears of regime change. This has created a security dilemma and reinforced a power rivalry in the region. In fact, the region is characterised by distrust and fearmongering. In particular, the fear of regime change is the main root of conflicts. This policy paper proposes a bottom-up approach for decision-makers to build trust and regional cooperation to de-escalate tension in the region and improve security. Besides, in response to the current creeping escalation, this paper sheds light on how maritime cooperation has a profound potential to mitigate insecurity.