Members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) will take "all necessary measures" to defend their security and territory, reserving the right to respond to what they described as "heinous" and "treacherous Iranian attacks".
Foreign ministers and senior officials from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman held an online meeting with GCC Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi on Sunday after Iran attacked its neighbours.
Iran continues to attack what it says are US and Israeli targets in the region, drawing sharp condemnation. The strikes came in retaliation for a joint Israeli-US military campaign on Tehran that has killed senior military commanders and hundreds of civilians.
In a joint statement, GCC states said they would "take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and to protect their territories, citizens and residents, including the option of responding to the aggression".
They stressed their "legal right to respond ... the right of self-defence, individually and collectively, in the event of aggression".
The council said the "treacherous Iranian attacks" on Gulf states and Jordan targeted civilian facilities and residential areas, "causing significant material damage, threatening the safety and lives of citizens and residents, and spreading fear among the population".
It decried the attacks as a serious breach of their sovereignty and a breach of international law and the UN Charter, "regardless of any justifications or pretexts". Iran claims that by targeting US bases in the region, it is attacking "American soil" and has no intention of harming its neighbours – a suggestion rejected by the GCC.
The council's statement said the attacks came despite guarantees that GCC territories would not be used to launch any attacks against Iran.
The council commended the armed forces and air defence systems of member states for successfully intercepting hundreds of missiles and drones. Dozens of injuries have been reported across the region from shrapnel caused by the interceptions over residential areas. Three people have been killed in the UAE and one in Kuwait.
The GCC called for the "immediate cessation" of attacks and "underscored the vital importance of maintaining aerial and maritime security and protecting regional waterways" after the Iranian Navy instructed ships to avoid passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital to global energy markets.
GCC states also called for a return to dialogue and diplomacy as the "sole path" to overcoming the crisis and preserving regional security, and praised the role of Oman in mediating previous US-Iran talks. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi said on Sunday that talks in Geneva last week made "genuine progress towards an unprecedented agreement".
"I want to be very clear – the door to diplomacy remains open," he wrote on X. "I still believe in the power of diplomacy to resolve this conflict. The sooner talks are resumed, the better it is for everyone."
