The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council has expressed its firm rejection and strongest condemnation of “heinous” Iranian attacks targeting GCC states and Jordan, saying they retain their legal right to respond.
The Council held a virtual meeting on Sunday to review “the extensive damage resulting from the treacherous Iranian attacks on these countries, including strikes on civilian facilities, service sites, and residential areas, causing significant material damage, posing threats to the security, safety, and lives of citizens and residents, and terrorizing innocent civilians.”
A statement said that the Council “also discussed the necessary measures and steps to coordinate efforts to restore security and stability and achieve peace in the region.”
It “expressed its firm rejection and strongest condemnation of these heinous attacks targeting GCC states” as well as Jordan, saying they constitute “a serious violation of the sovereignty of these states, the principles of good neighborliness, and a clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.”
The statement added that the targeting of civilians and civilian objects constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law.
The Council underscored full solidarity among its member states, affirming their united stance in confronting the Iranian attacks, and stressed that the security of each member state is indivisible and that any attack against one member constitutes a direct attack on all.
“The GCC states retain their legal right to respond under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which guarantees the right of self-defense, individually or collectively, in the event of aggression, and to take all necessary measures to safeguard their sovereignty, security and stability,” said the statement.
The Council commended the armed forces of the member states, which “successfully intercepted missile and drone attacks with high professionalism, thereby neutralizing the threats, mitigating their effects, and protecting lives, facilities, and critical infrastructure.”
The conferees stressed that “in light of this unjustified Iranian aggression against GCC states, the member countries will take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and to protect their territories, citizens, and residents, including the option to respond to the aggression.”
The Council also called on the international community to condemn and strongly denounce the Iranian attacks, and urged the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities by taking an immediate and firm stance to prevent such violations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied that his country is attacking neighboring countries. "We are not attacking our neighbors in the Persian Gulf. Our target is US facilities in those countries. The neighbors should direct their complaints to the decision-makers in this war," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
