RIYADH: Jasem Al-Budaiwi, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has condemned media statements made by Iranian officials regarding member states of the organization.
The statements infringe upon the sovereignty of the Durra oil field, owned by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait; the sovereignty of Bahrain; and the rights of the UAE regarding three islands — Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa — which Iran occupies.
The GCC states have consistently reaffirmed the importance of adhering to the foundations and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, including the principles of good neighborliness
Jasem Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council
Al-Budaiwi said: “These statements contained fallacies, false claims, and rejected allegations that contradict the principles of non-interference in internal affairs and good neighborliness — principles which Iran violated through its aggression against the sovereignty and independence of Qatar.”
The official said that the statements were in opposition to the GCC states’ continuous efforts to enhance relations with Iran at all levels.
He added: “The GCC states have consistently reaffirmed the importance of adhering to the foundations and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, including the principles of good neighborliness, respect for state sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, the peaceful resolution of disputes, and refraining from the use or threat of force.”
He added that the GCC states had consistently demonstrated goodwill toward Iran, stressing their support for Tehran’s security and stability to preserve the interests of the Iranian people and to avoid tension in the region.
Al-Budaiwi said: “This commitment was underlined during the joint meetings between the GCC foreign ministers and Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Seyyed Abbas Araghchi. The council member states have also underscored the significance of continuing bilateral communication between the GCC and Iran to enhance shared interests and maintain regional security and stability.”
He affirmed the GCC’s commitment to peace, coexistence, and pursuing dialogue and diplomatic solutions in international relations. He called on Iran to cease spreading false claims that served to undermine trust and hinder communication and understanding, at a time when the countries of the region needed rapprochement and cooperation to safeguard their interests and achieve their aspirations for security, stability, growth, and prosperity.
Israel says it has launched ‘broad wave’ of strikes on Iran, as Tehran widens its response across the region
US military says 17 Iranian navy ships destroyed, struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran thus far
US and Israeli attacks have killed 787 people in Iran: Iranian Red Crescent
Updated 33 min 37 sec ago
Agencies
JERUSALEM/DUBAI/TEHRAN: Israel early Wednesday launched new attacks on Iran as the US military said it has hit nearly 2,000 targets inside the Islamic republic, which tried to impose a cost by expanding a missile and drone barrage across the region.
With global energy prices on the rise, President Donald Trump said the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital chokepoint into the Gulf that Iran has threatened to seal off.
Israel’s military said it launched a “broad wave of strikes” after midnight across Iran, which in the hours before had launched three separate missile barrages at Israel, causing mild injuries to a woman in Tel Aviv.
The US military has destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including a submarine, and struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran, the commander of the US Central Command said on Tuesday.
“Today, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman,” US Central Command’s Brad Cooper said in a video posted to X.
Cooper said the US military has “severely degraded Iran’s air defenses” and taken out hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers and drones.
The video showed missiles and jets launching from US ships, and targets exploding on the ground.
Cooper noted that Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones in retaliation.
But he said the US is “hunting” Iran’s last remaining mobile ballistic missile launchers to eliminate their “lingering launch capability.”
Cooper said the operation has involved more than 50,000 troops, 200 fighter jets, two aircraft carriers and bombers, and “more capability is on the way.”
“We’ve just begun,” Cooper said, adding that the US military is targeting “all the things that can shoot at us.”
“These forces bring a massive amount of firepower, representing the largest buildup by the US in the Middle East in a generation,” he said in the video message, describing the first day’s barrage as bigger than the so-called “shock and awe” against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 2003.
U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers are delivering unrelenting, overwhelming firepower from regional waters. DAY and NIGHT. pic.twitter.com/3YTiFkFc1V
The US and Israeli attacks have killed 787 people in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent, a toll that could not be independently confirmed.
Iran vowed to inflict a heavy price in retaliation. Drones struck adjacent the US consulate in Dubai, starting a fire but inflicting no casualties, and against the US military base at Al-Udeid in Qatar.
The attacks came a day after strikes on the US embassies in Riyadh and Kuwait City and on a US air base in Bahrain.
“We are saying to the enemy that if it decides to hit our main centers, we will hit all economic centers in the region,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard General Ebrahim Jabbari said.
Iranian attacks have killed at least nine people and wounded dozens in the Gulf region, according to various reports quoting local authorities.
Mourners gather at Kuwait's Sulaibikhat cemetery on March 3, 2026, during the funeral of Kuwait Army soldiers who were killed in an Iranian strike. (AFP)
Among the latest death was an 11-year-old girl who was killed after shrapnel fell in a residential area in Kuwait City, health authorities said Wednesday.
The Kuwait army said in a statement the shrapnel fell over a house and left casualties while forces were intercepting “several hostile aerial targets” over the country.
The Health Ministry said in a separate statement that the child died of her wounds at the hospital.
The child’s mother and three other relatives were injured and being treated at the hospital, it said.
Vessel hit in Gulf of Oman
A vessel was hit by a projectile early Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman off the United Arab Emirates, an agency of the UK military said.
There were no reported casualties.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the vessel was struck 8 miles east of Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates.
The attack damaged the vessel’s steel plating.
No fire or water intake was reported, it said.
Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 3, 2026. President Trump said the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz , which Iran has threatened to close. (REUTERS)
Iran hits US embassies
The US State Department said Tuesday it’s preparing military and charter flights for Americans who want to leave the Middle East. Several other countries also arranged evacuation flights for their citizens.
An attack from two drones on the US Embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire,” according to the Saudi Arabian Defense Ministry, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound.
An Iranian drone struck a parking lot outside the US consulate in Dubai, sparking a small fire, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Washington. He said all personnel were accounted for.
The United Arab Emirates said it has intercepted the vast majority of more than 1,000 Iranian missile and drone attacks against it.
US embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon said they were closed to the public.
The US State Department ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. And US citizens were urged to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries, though many were stranded because of airspace closures.
The US military has confirmed six deaths of American service members.
Four of the American soldiers killed were identified as Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt, Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who received a posthumous promotion in rank. They were assigned to the Iowa-based 103rd Sustainment Command.
Ghost town
In Tehran, residents who have not fled remained shut away in their homes for fear of the US-Israeli bombardment.
The Iranian capital is normally home to around 10 million people, but in recent days “there are so few people that you’d think no one ever lived here,” said Samireh, a 33-year-old nurse.
Authorities had previously urged people to leave the city, and police officers, armed security forces and armored vehicles have been stationed at main junctions, carrying out random checks on vehicles.
In the more upmarket north of Tehran, the meowing of cats and chirping of birds replaced the usual din of traffic jams.
Iranian authorities said a strike on a school in the city of Minab on the first day of the war killed more than 150 people.
