January
09, 2016
Foreign
Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif bin
Rashid Al Zayani Joint Press Conference following the 42nd extraordinary
meeting of the GCC Ministerial Council
TRANSCRIPT
HE
Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir:
In the
name of God,
The
council discussed at length the Iranian attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran
and the consulate in Mashad. The council also discussed Iran's aggressive policies in
the region and ongoing interferences in the countries, with the aim of destabilizing
their security and stability. The discussion was thorough and
very positive, as this is the norm between brothers. We came out with a
shared vision about the Iranian attacks. And now I would like to give the floor to His
Excellency the Secretary General to read the statement.
GCC
Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani:
In the
name of God
Peace
be Upon the Prophet
Dear
members of the press
Peace
be upon you
Press
statement issued by the Ministerial Council at its 42nd extraordinary meeting
on January 9, 2016, in
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Ministerial Council of the Gulf
Cooperation Council held their 42nd extraordinary meeting in Riyadh on
Saturday, January 9, 2016, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, and with the presence of Their
Highnesses and Excellencies: HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates; His Excellency Sheikh
Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Kingdom of Bahrain;
His Excellency Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Sultanate of Oman;
Dr. Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of
Qatar; HE Sheikh Sabah
Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the State of Kuwait; and His Excellency the Secretary General of GCC, Dr. Abdullatif
bin Rashid Al Zayani.
The
Ministerial Council discussed at length the repercussions of the attacks on the
Royal Embassy of Saudi
Arabia in Tehran and the Saudi consulate in Mashhad. The ministers condemned
the attacks in strong
terms, holding the Iranian authorities fully responsible for these terrorist
acts under its commitment
pursuant to the 1961 and 1963 Vienna Conventions and international law, which
holds host
country Iran responsible for protecting diplomatic missions.
The
council also condemned Iran’s blatant interferences in the internal affairs of
Saudi Arabia, particularly
the Iranian government’s hostile and provocative statements on the sentences
carried out by
Saudi Arabia against a number of persons convicted by Saudi courts of
terrorism. These statements were a direct incitement for launching the attacks on the
diplomatic missions of Saudi Arabia.
The
council stressed that such acts do not serve peace and security in the region
and the world; are contrary
to the principles of good neighborliness, non-interference in the internal
affairs of states, and respect for national sovereignty; and only serve to complicate
the situation and ignite more crises in the region.
The
council stressed that GCC countries support the decisions and measures taken by
the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to find
perpetrators of terrorist acts and instigators of sedition and bring them to justice. The
council praised the efficiency, independence and integrity of the judicial system in Saudi
Arabia.
The
council expressed its full support for the measures taken by Saudi Arabia to
respond to the terrorist
attacks on its diplomatic missions in Iran, stressing that the GCC countries
will take further appropriate
measures. The council welcomed the categorical rejection of these attacks
expressed by Arab,
Islamic and friendly countries and the UN Security Council, calling on all
countries and the international
community to take serious and effective steps to prevent such attacks on
diplomatic missions
in Iran.
The
council condemned Iran's continued occupation of three United Arab Emirates
islands (Greater Tunb,
Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa), fomenting of sectarian strife, supporting, training
and financing terrorist
organizations, and incitement to undermine security and stability in the GCC
countries, some of
which were recently revealed during a foiled terrorist plot in Kingdom of
Bahrain and the arrest of members of a new terror cell that was receiving support from the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The council agreed to establish an
effective mechanism to address the Iranian interference.
The
council urges the international community to take necessary measures to compel
Iran to respect the
principle of good neighborliness, both in words and in deeds, to stop its
destabilizing activities in the region, to stop its support for terrorism, to cease interfering
in the internal affairs of the GCC countries and other countries in the region, and to end the use
of force or threat of force. (End of GCC Statement)
Question: (Abdul Mohsen
Sheikh - Al Jazeera Channel): The Iranian Foreign
Ministry received an invitation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to
participate in the ministerial meeting called for by the Kingdom. What does the Kingdom seek
from this specific invitation and the successive meetings?
Minister
Al-Jubeir: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, includes Iran.
Iran is a member, and if the Kingdom requested to an exceptional meeting for the Organization
of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the attacks on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and Consulate General
in Mashhad, the organization sent these invitations to all members.
The
purpose behind this meeting is to determine the position of the Islamic
countries; that such action is unacceptable in terms of international law, Vienna
Conventions, and the Charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
We
expect the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take a firm stance similar to
the one taken by the
Gulf Cooperation Council. We also hope that tomorrow the League of Arab
States will take a strong
position with respect to Iranian aggression, both on the attacks on the Saudi
Arabia’s embassy and
consulate, or its interference in the affairs of countries in the region, or its
support for terrorism. This is what we expect.
Question:
(Ahlam AlZaeem – Makkah newspaper): Will Saudi Arabia
and the Gulf states seek to issue sanctions against Iran, both at an international level by the
Security Council, or organizations, or at the Gulf level?
Minister
Al-Jubeir: Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council worked on
the Security Council resolution condemning the Iranian aggression. We have succeeded
in that, and thankfully, now we are working with the international community to expose Iran and its
unacceptable policy, which has been in place for the past 35 years. We are also looking at
additional measures that could be taken against Iran if it continues its current
policies. Things will be clearer through time.
Question:
(Salem Khathaami - Al-Eekhbariya channel): My first question
is for Minister Adel Al-Jubeir. With the increasing nature of Iranian interference in the
affairs of the region, and through this meeting held today, would Gulf countries suffice with
the actions taken in the past few days or will the world witness
a tougher phase? The other question is to the Secretary General, we have news
about holding a
meeting with the Arab League tomorrow, will you relay what was discussed in
Riyadh today to the Arab
League and what [actions] will be taken internationally in this regard?
Secretary-General
Al Zayani: In regards to the Arab League’s meeting tomorrow, yes the
Council’s position
was clear in the statement that I read to you, which is the position that will
be determined with
the Arab brothers at the meeting tomorrow.
Minister
Al-Jubeir: With respect to the position of the Kingdom and the Gulf
Cooperation Council, as I mentioned in an answer to an earlier question, we are now
looking at the steps that can be taken towards Iran, escalation [of the situation]
came from Iran, not from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, the negative actions by
Iran in the region, came from Iran and not the Gulf Cooperation Council. We are tracking
Iran's moves and taking action to address them, things will be more
pronounced as reported in the near future.
Question:
(Deema Almashaabi-Bloomberg, in English) Just in the future
do you see Saudi Arabia conducting direct talks with Iran about the issue?
Minister
Al-Jubeir: We have no issue in terms of dealing with the Iranians in the past.
It is Iran that has committed
the aggression against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is Iran that interferes
in our internal affairs
and the internal affairs of our neighboring countries. It is Iran that sponsors
terrorism against us and our neighbors. It is Iran that harbors terrorists and those
implicated in terrorism. And so all of the negativity and all the hostilities coming
from, emanating from Iran and has been for the past 35 or so years,
since the Iranian revolution in 1979. Sectarianism in the Middle East was
virtually unheard of until the Iranian revolution took place and Iran started pushing
a sectarian agenda that started to divide people and nations along sectarian lines. These actions
are not acceptable.
And the
position that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken along with its allies in
the GCC is to basically
say enough is enough. These actions will not be tolerated. We cannot have a
country that burns
and attacks embassies, whether those embassies are American, British or Saudi.
We can’t have a country
that supports terrorism that leads to killing of the innocent. We can’t have a
country that interferes
in the internal affairs of other countries and then expects people to deal with
them in a normal
manner. This is not logical.
Iran
has to make a decision whether it is a nation state or a revolution. If it’s a
nation state, it should act like one, and be a rational actor, that countries can deal with.
If it is a revolution, it will be very difficult - if not impossible - to deal with them, because
revolutions have no logic. It's all driven by emotions. We would
welcome the opportunity to see Iran act like a normal country, to be a peaceful
country, to not interfere
in the affairs of the countries of the region, and to not support terrorism.
But that is entirely in the hands of Iran. If it wants to be a good neighbor or if it
wants to remain in a hostile environment with its region.
I think
most countries in the Arab and Islamic world have rejected these Iranian moves
and have taken steps
to redefine their relationship with Iran.
Thank
you.
Question:
(Ian Black/The Guardian, in English): My question is to
Mr. Al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister. What do you fear will be the effect on this crisis
with Iran on efforts to bring about these negotiations first of all in Syria, where
there had been some progress recently, and also in Yemen?
Minister
Al-Jubeir: This question has been asked by a lot of people and a lot
of people have expressed views or opinions about it that are not correct. We are
committed to the Vienna process and to bring about a resolution to the Syrian crisis. We
will continue to work with the countries in the Vienna process in order to bring about a resolution
to the Syrian crisis based on the principles of Geneva 1, an interim
governing council transition of power that leads to a new Syria in which Bashar
Al-Assad has absolutely
no role.
To that
we are committed. We’re also committed to supporting the Syrian opposition in
the absence of a
political process, so that commitment is also ironclad.
With
regards to Yemen, we are committed to a peaceful resolution to the crisis in
Yemen based on the GCC
initiatives and the outcomes of the Yemeni national dialogue and based on UN
Security Council resolution
2216.
We urge
all parties in Yemen to move towards a peaceful solution and in the meantime we
are determined
to continue supporting the legitimate government of Yemen in terms of
maintaining its influence
in Yemen and expanding its influence in Yemen. The crisis that was provoked by
Iran’s aggression
is not going to change our views on those two issues.
I would
want to add here that Iran has played a very negative role in both Syria and
Yemen. Iran is the one
that supported the Houthis with money and with manpower and with weapons, and
it continues to do
so. We have stopped a number of Iranian ships carrying weapons that will bound
for the Houthis so this
is a very negative role that Iran is playing in Yemen.
With
regards to Syria, everybody knows that Iran sends its revolutionary guards to
go to protect Bashar Al-Assad and that Iran mobilized Shia militias; Hezbollah from
Lebanon, from Iraq, from other countries in order to go and support Bashar Al-Assad, as
he killed more than 250 thousand people and rendered more than 12 million people homeless.
So the
role that Iran plays in Syria and in Yemen is a very negative one and we hope
that they will be able to
change those policies. Our policy with regards to Syria remains the same, and
our policy regards to
Yemen remains the same.
