NEW YORK CITY: Iran has fired more than 7,000 missiles and drones at Gulf Cooperation Council member states since Feb. 28, the organization’s secretary-general told the UN Security Council on Friday.
Jasem Mohammed Albudaiwi also warned that disruptions to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz were choking the vital supplies of fertilizers on which developing countries depend, increasing the risk of famine.
Locations hit by the Iranian strikes over the past eight months included airports, seaports, oil and gas facilities, power stations, desalination plants and residential areas in all six GCC member states, Albudaiwi said. The attacks resulted in deaths and injuries, extensive damage to infrastructure, and serious harm to the waters of the Arabian Gulf.
“We are addressing your council today with a unified Gulf voice,” he told council members. The attacks were “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of GCC member states,” he added, calling on the council to take action “to ensure their cessation (and) to prevent their recurrence.”
The meeting was requested by Bahrain to discuss heightened tensions in the region and threats to maritime security in the Gulf, and it was convened by Latvia, which holds the rotating presidency of the council this month.
Albudaiwi said the consequences of disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz had now gone beyond…
