US, GCC denounce Iran’s policies, express concern over weapons proliferation

The United States and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, in a joint statement, condemned Iran’s destabilizing policies and expressed their serious concerns about the proliferation of Iranian weapons in the region, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.

Senior US officials have been participating in security meetings with GCC officials this week in Riyadh to discuss Iran and other shared threats.

The joint statement followed a US-GCC Working Group meeting on Iran in Riyadh on Tuesday, and it highlighted Tehran’s “support for terrorism, use of advanced missiles, cyber weapons, and unmanned aerial systems, and their deployment in the region and around the world,” SPA reported.

The statement accused Iran and its proxies of employing these weapons to target civilians, critical infrastructure, and international shipping.

Of particular concern was the increased military cooperation between Iran and state and non-state actors, including the supply of conventional weapons, advanced missiles, and unmanned aerial systems to the Houthi militia, which has “prolonged the conflict in Yemen and exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe there,” the statement said.

The US and GCC member states stressed that the proliferation of these weapons by Iran and their delivery to other parties, whether governmental or non-governmental, “constitutes a serious security threat to the region and the world as a whole.”

The statement also expressed concern about Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, particularly the production of highly enriched uranium, which it said has exceeded Iran’s civilian needs.

It called on Tehran to “change its position, stop its nuclear provocations, engage in the diplomatic process earnestly, and fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigations regarding particles of nuclear material found at undeclared sites in Iran.”