Iranian attacks undermine confidence and close the doors to dialogue
Aggression does not build relationships, and intimidation does not create stability
Persisting in the approach of aggression will only lead to further isolation
The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned in the strongest terms these brutal Iranian attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, stressing that they constitute a blatant aggression against the sovereignty of states, the security of their peoples and the integrity of their territories, and a flagrant violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of good neighborliness.
This came in the statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting held in Manama, headed by Dr. Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministerial Council affirmed that these hostile actions do not serve any understanding or rapprochement, but rather divide people, undermine the foundations of trust, sow discord, and close the doors to dialogue that the GCC countries have long called for. Aggression does not build relationships, and intimidation does not create stability.
The Council expressed its full solidarity and firm standing as one with the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, stressing that the security of the GCC countries is an indivisible whole, and that any attack on one of them is an attack on all of them.
The Council reassured the citizens of its countries and those residing in their territories that the capabilities of the joint defense and air defense systems are confronting these attacks with high efficiency and readiness, and that the leaders of the Council countries are continuing to preserve the security and stability of the region, and that these attacks will only increase the cohesion, determination and insistence of the peoples of the Council countries to resist and confront them.
The Council affirmed the established and legitimate right of its states to defend themselves individually and collectively, and to respond to this aggression by all legitimate means, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which guarantees the natural right of states to defend themselves if an armed force attacks them.
The Council holds Iran fully responsible for these actions and their dangerous repercussions on the security of the region, international navigation, and energy supplies, and demands their immediate cessation and a complete cessation of any targeting of the Council states, their interests, and their citizens.
The Council called on the Security Council and the international community to assume their responsibilities in condemning this aggression and holding its perpetrators accountable, in a way that ensures respect for the sovereignty of states and the preservation of regional and international peace and security.
The statement stated that the Ministerial Council, while reiterating the adherence of the GCC countries to the option of peace, good neighborliness, and diplomatic solutions as a way to settle differences, poses to the aggressor a fundamental question: How can future relations be built in light of the continuation of these attacks and the insistence on them? Persisting in the approach of aggression will only lead to more isolation, while the door to understanding remains open and open to those who choose the language of wisdom and good neighborliness.
