GCC countries have issued a strong condemnation of Iran for its attack on Gulf countries since 28th February. "Iranian attacks have also led to a sharp loss of confidence by the Council states in Iran, which requires Iran to take the initiative to make serious efforts to rebuild trust", they said.
This was stated by the Secretary General of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), that bring together the six Gulf monarchies - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE), in a statement on Tuesday 28 April, at the end of a summit of the leaders of the member states held in Saudi Arabia.
In his statement, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said that the leaders discussed the current regional situation, particularly in relation to the escalation in the region, and the blatant Iranian attacks against the Council countries and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, as well as ways to establish a diplomatic path that ends the crisis and paves the way for reaching agreements and understandings that address the sources of concern of the Council states and enhance security and stability in the long term.
The Secretary General added that the Leaders of the GCC, valued the gracious invitation extended by the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to hold this summit, which reflects the Kingdom’s keenness to strengthen solidarity among the Cooperation Council countries and coordinate their positions in dealing with the challenges currently facing the region.
He further explained that the Leaders of the Council states, expressed their strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Iranian attacks against the GCC member states and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which targeted civilian facilities and infrastructure, resulting in loss of life and property, and constituted a grave violation of the sovereignty of the Council states, the Charter of the United Nations (UN), international law and the principles of good neighborliness, where these treacherous Iranian attacks have also led to a sharp loss of confidence by the Council states in Iran, which requires Iran to take the initiative to make serious efforts to rebuild trust.
The Secretary General added that the Leaders of the GCC affirmed the right of the Council states to defend themselves, individually or collectively, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the UN, and to take all measures to protect their sovereignty, security and stability.
They also affirmed full solidarity among the Member states, that the security of the GCC countries is indivisible, and that any attack against any member state is considered a direct attack against all its states, in accordance with the Joint Defence Agreement of the GCC.
He also referred to the praise expressed by the Leaders of the GCC for the high level of courage and bravery shown by the armed forces of the Council countries in defending the Council states against the blatant Iranian attacks, and for the capabilities and readiness demonstrated by these forces, which enabled them, by the grace of Allah the Almighty, to confront the missile and drone attacks and deal with them with a high degree of professionalism and efficiency, while preserving the security of the member states and the resources of their peoples.
The Secretary General stated that the Leaders of the Council states, praised the ability shown by the Council states to deal with the challenges they faced as a result of this crisis, and the ability of the Council states to overcome them, thanks to the wisdom shown in dealing with the situation and the solidarity witnessed among them during the past period, where the member states were able to rehabilitate the energy facilities damaged by the Iranian attacks quickly and efficiently, contributing to the preservation of energy supplies, while also dealing with disruptions to supply chains and enhancing cooperation in the fields of logistics and aviation.
He explained that the Leaders of the Council states, expressed their categorical rejection of Iran’s illegal measures to close the Strait of Hormuz, obstruct navigation through it and threaten its security, as well as any measures that would negatively affect navigation through it, including the imposition of fees under any circumstance or designation for the passage of ships through it, stressing the need to restore the security and freedom of navigation and return conditions in the Strait to what they were before February 28, 2026.
The Secretary General concluded his statement by affirming the noble directive of the Leaders of the Council states, to the General Secretariat of the GCC on the need to expedite the completion of the requirements necessary to realize all joint GCC projects, including transport and logistics services, while accelerating the implementation of the GCC railway project.
He also explained that the Leaders of the GCC pointed to the importance of the electricity interconnection project among the Council states, in addition to expediting the start of steps towards establishing a pipeline project for the transport of oil and gas, as well as the water interconnection project among the GCC states, and moving forward with studying the establishment of areas for the GCC strategic reserve.
He added that the Leaders of the Council countries underlined the importance of intensifying military integration among the member states, and accelerating the completion of the early warning system project against ballistic missiles.
source: commonspace.eu with the press service of the Foreign Ministry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
