Iran Condemns US-GCC Statement as 'Provocative'
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- Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned a June 25 US-GCC joint statement from a ministerial meeting in Bahrain as "interventionist, irresponsible and provocative," rejecting conditions tying any trade and investment with Iran to its nuclear program, missiles, drones, and regional armed groups.
- The US-GCC statement, co-chaired by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani with ministers from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, said "any trade and investment with Iran is conditional and reversible" and rejected "any tolls, fees, or attempts to assert control over the strait."
- Iranian spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected language on Iran's missile and drone capabilities, declaring that "the means of this defense cannot be subject to bargaining or concession with any party."
- Iran has struck 20 US military sites since the war began, while US troop levels across the Gulf rose from roughly 40,000 to more than 50,000 after Trump escalated the conflict.
- The Wall Street Journal reported Washington is weighing reducing its presence in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, refurbishing facilities in Bahrain, and potentially relocating some assets to Israel.
- Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, warned safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz "cannot be guaranteed for vessels" under arrangements excluding Tehran, invoking Article 5 of the June 17 US-Iran memorandum of understanding.
- Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, told Gulf states their "survival feeds off the scraps of this table" and that "peripheral minor players have no seat at the table" in the regional realignment.
Why it matters: Iran is publicly positioning itself as the indispensable guarantor of Gulf shipping while dismissing US-backed Gulf monarchies as dependent on Western protection. With the US reportedly weighing shifting military assets from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia toward Israel, Tehran's claim that Gulf territory is being weaponized against it gains new material backing.
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