The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, condemned Iranian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait on Saturday, describing them as "war crimes."
Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi
The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, condemned Iranian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait on Saturday, describing them as "war crimes."
"Iran's actions represent an extremely dangerous escalation, a grave violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as war crimes... given the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and facilities," Albudaiwi said in a statement.
This is the strongest language the GCC chief has used yet in a series of condemnations issued in recent weeks, as Iran has repeatedly struck Gulf states, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Oman and the UAE, alongside attacks on commercial vessels in the region. Albudaiwi reaffirmed the GCC's full solidarity with the three countries and its support for all measures they are taking to protect their sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
The statement comes as fighting between the United States, Israel and Iran has sharply escalated over the past week, with Tehran launching retaliatory strikes on US allies and interests across the Gulf following successive rounds of American strikes on Iranian territory.
Kuwait reported a fire at one of its power and desalination plants after an Iranian strike on Friday, while Jordan has intercepted multiple waves of Iranian missiles entering its airspace in recent days.
The Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management", the head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, said on Thursday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that a deal reached with Syria on the future of Moscow's military bases in the country would boost ties between the nations, and a Syrian source said some Russian forces would still be stationed there under the agreement.
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