GCC demands Iran pay full compensation for attacks on Gulf states

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Any future agreement with Iran must address Gulf security concerns, GCC Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi tells the UN Security Council

Gulf Arab states on Friday demanded that Iran pay full compensation for damage caused by thousands of missile and drone attacks since February, urging the UN Security Council to hold Tehran accountable and prevent further strikes.

Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi told the 15-member Council that Iran had launched thousands of missiles and drones against Gulf states since February 28, targeting airports, ports, oil and gas facilities, power stations, desalination plants and residential areas.

"The GCC holds Iran fully responsible for these attacks and their consequences and rejects all claims by Iran to justify targeting GCC states which were not party to the war but instead exerted intensive diplomatic efforts to spare the region from escalation," Mr Al Budaiwi said.

Iran’s deputy ambassador, Gholamhossein Darzi, countered that Gulf states helped Washington carry out attacks against Tehran.

"The facts on the ground are clear," he told the Security Council. "Countries in the Persian Gulf region…have facilitated the US aggression against Iran. They have violated the UN Charter and international law and must be held accountable."

With the conflict disrupting oil shipments through Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has diverted about four million barrels of crude a day through its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, equivalent to roughly four per cent of global oil supply.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities since September, and fighting with the coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government has intensified after the Houthis advanced towards the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, a strategic chokepoint at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

Mr Al Budaiwi demanded that shipping conditions in the Strait of Hormuz return to those existing before February 28, rejecting attempts to obstruct navigation or impose unlawful transit fees.

He noted that any future agreement with Iran must address Gulf security concerns, including Tehran's nuclear programme, ballistic missiles, drones and support for armed groups.

UN assistant Secretary General Khaled Khiari warned that shipping in the Gulf remained far below pre-war levels despite a recovery in energy exports through alternative routes.

"This should not be mistaken for a return to normality," he told Council members.

Mr Khiari said the month of October saw the highest number of attacks and other incidents involving commercial shipping since the war began in February.

As of November 11, he said, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) had recorded 134 confirmed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, leaving 25 seafarers dead, with others injured or missing.

“The longer these restrictions persist, the greater the economic costs, and the more difficult it will become to restore commercial confidence and trade flows. This situation cannot be allowed to become the new normal,” he said.

Updated:

November 13, 2026, 10:28 PM