The member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) expressed their strong condemnation and denunciation of the Iranian attack that targeted the Saudi tanker "Wadyan" and the Qatari tanker "Al Rukayyat" while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz, endangering the crews of both vessels. The GCC described the incident as an unacceptable assault on the security and safety of international navigation and global energy supplies. The GCC also condemned the repeated and brutal Iranian attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Kuwait, characterising them as a grave violation of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which guarantees freedom of maritime navigation and safe transit through international waterways, as well as a breach of the memorandum of understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, under which a ceasefire was agreed and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was stipulated.
GCC member states reaffirmed their full solidarity and their united front in confronting these aggressions, stressing that the security of GCC states is indivisible and that any attack on any member state constitutes a direct attack on all member states, in accordance with the GCC's founding statute and the Joint Defence Agreement. The member states also affirmed their right to self-defence pursuant to Article 51 of the UN Charter, which guarantees the right of individual and collective self-defence in the event of aggression, and to take all measures necessary to preserve their sovereignty, security, and stability.
GCC member states held the Islamic Republic of Iran fully responsible for these aggressions and their consequences, affirming that the continuation of such hostile acts and destabilising behaviour undermines regional and international security and peace, threatens the safety of international navigation, and exposes the stability of energy markets and the global economy to serious risks.
GCC member states renewed their call on the international community, and in particular the UN Security Council, to condemn these aggressions, to fulfil its responsibilities, and to adopt a firm stance to ensure safe transit through international waterways and guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz without restrictions and without the imposition of transit fees or service charges, in accordance with the provisions of international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea — as this is a fundamental pillar of energy security, food and medicine supplies, and the flow of global trade. They further called for all necessary measures to be taken to bring about an immediate, permanent, and unconditional halt to all Iranian hostile acts, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a sustainable and unconditional manner, and to reject the imposition of any unilateral or unlawful mechanisms or arrangements.
GCC member states stressed the necessity of Iran's full compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2817 and the memorandum of understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the implementation of all provisions contained therein, in a manner that contributes to entrenching regional and international security and stability and consolidating the foundations of security and prosperity in the region and the world.