The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held its meeting in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, on a day that witnessed a new heinous Iranian aggression, represented by drone and ballistic missile attacks against the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait and the brotherly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
As the Ministerial Council follows these developments with the utmost concern and denunciation, it expresses, on behalf of the GCC states, the following:
1. The Ministerial Council condemns in the strongest terms these brutal Iranian attacks against the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and considers them a blatant aggression against the sovereignty of states, the security of their peoples and the safety of their territories, as well as a flagrant violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of good neighbourliness.
2. The Council affirms that these hostile acts do not serve any understanding or rapprochement, but rather distance peoples from one another, undermine the foundations of trust, sow discord and close the doors of dialogue to which the GCC states have always called. Aggression does not build relations, and intimidation does not create stability.
3. The Council expresses its full solidarity and firm support, standing united with the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
4. The Council affirms that the security of the GCC states is indivisible, and that any attack against one of them is an attack against them all.
5. The Council reassures the citizens of its states and residents on their territories that the joint defense capabilities and air defense systems are confronting these attacks with high efficiency and readiness, and that the leaderships of the GCC states are moving forward in safeguarding the security and stability of the region. These attacks will only increase the cohesion, determination and resolve of the peoples of the GCC states to resist and confront them.
6. The Council affirms 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 Charter of the United Nations, which guarantees the inherent right of states to defend themselves if an armed attack occurs against them.
7. The Council holds Iran fully responsible for these acts and their grave repercussions on the security of the region, international navigation and energy supplies, and demands their immediate cessation and a complete end to any targeting of the GCC states, their interests and their citizens.
8. The Council calls upon the Security Council and the international community to assume their responsibilities in condemning this aggression and holding its perpetrators accountable, in a manner that ensures respect for the sovereignty of states and the preservation of regional and international peace and security.
The Ministerial Council, while renewing the GCC states’ commitment to the option of peace, good neighborliness and diplomatic solutions as a means of settling disputes, poses a fundamental question to the aggressor: How can future relations be built amid the continuation of these attacks and the insistence on pursuing them? Persistence in the path of aggression will only lead to further isolation, while the door to understanding remains open to those who choose the language of wisdom and good neighborliness.
Source: Riyadh Daily