EU leaders express solidarity with Gulf countries amid Iranian attacks

EU and Gulf Cooperation Council leaders condemn ‘unjustifiable Iranian attacks’ across region after talks in Brussels.

European Union leaders have expressed support for Arab countries in the Gulf as Iran continues to launch missile and drone strikes on targets across the region in response to attacks by the United States and Israel.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and other European leaders held talks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) officials on Thursday in Brussels, denouncing what they described as “Iran’s inexcusable attacks against the GCC countries”.

“The Ministers strongly condemned the unjustifiable Iranian attacks against the GCC countries which threaten regional and global security and called on Iran to cease immediately its attacks,” they said in a joint EU-GCC statement.

The statement also reaffirmed that Gulf countries have the right “to take all necessary measures to defend their security and stability and protect their territories, citizens and residents”.

Reporting from the Belgian capital, Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid said the message coming out of the talks is that Europe “is ready to help” its allies in the Gulf, “but it prefers a solution that can be mediated and inspire de-escalation”.