GCC says Iran missile program should include Gulf Arab countries
Gulf Arab states said on Wednesday it would be dangerous to separate global powers’ nuclear deal with Iran from Tehran’s missile programme and “destabilizing” behavior, and reiterated a call that they be included in the dialogue.
Gulf Arab foreign ministers urged the powers to secure a deal with stronger restrictions and a longer duration, and to “link it with practical steps to build trust” in order to prevent an arms race and further conflict in the region.
World powers and Iran entered a sixth round of talks in Vienna on Saturday to revive the 2015 nuclear pact which Saudi Arabia and its allies opposed for not tackling their concerns, and which the United States abandoned in 2018.
In a statement following a meeting in Riyadh, they said Gulf states should be involved in global negotiations with Tehran and were ready to “cooperate and deal seriously and effectively with the Iranian nuclear file … on the basis of respect for sovereignty and good neighborliness”.
The statement stressed “the danger of separating implications of the nuclear deal” from Iran’s missiles programme and support for regional proxies, and urged Tehran to engage seriously with talks and avoid escalations.
