TEHRAN – Iran on Thursday strongly rejected “baseless and repetitive” allegations in the final statement of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), noting that the council has been taken hostage by “a raucous minority” of its member states.
“The GCC is practically hostage to excessive demands emanating from the failed policies of a raucous minority of its member states,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.
He also slammed the council for its double standards toward Iran, which on the one hand, claims to be seeking improved ties with Tehran, but on the other, levels baseless charges again the Islamic Republic.
The spokesman said taking such contradictory positions toward Iran will weaken “dialog-based approaches,” and turn the region into a stockpile of Western companies’ weapons, thus paving the way for foreign interference in the region.
Rejecting the GCC’s claims about Iran’s nuclear program, Khatibzadeh said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has been constantly complying with international law and its obligations. Therefore, it allows no interference in its nuclear and missile programs as well as issues related to its military policies and deterrent defense. These countries better start fulfilling their outstanding commitments toward international organizations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
The GCC states “whose interventionist policies in other countries have led to massacre of innocent civilians, especially in Yemen, and spread of insecurity and terrorism in the region, are trying through projection, to cover up their human rights-related crimes and evade international punishment,” Khatibzadeh said.
He expressed hope that the GCC member states would stop issuing outdated statements, pay more attention to regional realities, and reorient their approaches toward promotion of regional dialogue.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, based on its own strategic views and principled policies, considers interaction and cooperation the main solution to regional problems and welcomes any positive initiative aimed at promoting relations on the basis of international rules and regulations,” he said.
Khatibzadeh’s remarks came in response to the latest GCC statement on Wednesday in which the council members claimed that it would be dangerous to separate global powers’ nuclear deal with Iran from Tehran’s missile program and “destabilizing” behavior” in the region.
The GCC member states added that they should be involved in the ongoing negotiations with Tehran in the Austrian capital, which aim to revive Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).