GCC challenges Iran: How can future ties be built while attacks continue?

Saudi Gazette

GCC challenges Iran: How can future ties be built while attacks continue?

MANAMA — Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries renewed their commitment to peace, good neighborliness and diplomatic solutions while questioning how future relations with Iran can be built amid continued attacks against regional states. In a statement issued at the end of its 167th Ministerial Council meeting in Manama on Wednesday, the GCC said: “How can future relations be built amid the continuation of these attacks and the insistence on pursuing them?” It warned that continued aggression would only lead to further isolation while the door to dialogue remains open to those who choose wisdom and good neighborliness. The statement was issued as GCC foreign ministers met in Bahrain on a day marked by what the bloc described as a new Iranian attack involving drones and ballistic missiles targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.The Ministerial Council condemned what it described as “brutal Iranian attacks” against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, calling them a blatant violation of state sovereignty, international law, the United Nations Charter and the principles of good neighborliness.The council said the attacks threatened the security of citizens and the stability of the region and warned that such actions undermine trust and efforts aimed at regional rapprochement. According to the statement, aggression and intimidation cannot create stability or build relations between nations.The GCC reaffirmed its full solidarity with Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, stressing that the security of GCC member states is indivisible and that any attack against a member state is considered an attack against all. The council also sought to reassure citizens and residents across the Gulf, saying joint defense capabilities and air defense systems were confronting the attacks with a high degree of readiness and efficiency. It added that the attacks would only strengthen unity and determination among GCC states.The GCC reiterated that member states have the legitimate right to defend themselves individually and collectively in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.The council said member states are entitled to respond to aggression through all legitimate means recognized under international law.The Ministerial Council held Iran fully responsible for the attacks and their consequences for regional security, international navigation and global energy supplies. It called for an immediate halt to all attacks and demanded an end to any targeting of GCC states, their interests and their citizens. The GCC also urged the United Nations Security Council and the international community to condemn the attacks and hold those responsible, accountable in order to preserve regional and international peace and security.

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