The Arab countries have not and will not be held hostage by Iran to settle scores

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, confirmed on Tuesday that the Arab countries were not and will not be a hostage in the hands of Iran to settle scores.

Aboul Gheit said, in a speech he delivered during an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers today, via video conference, that “Tehran’s perceptions of controlling the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are legally invalid, not based on an argument or justification, and are rejected completely.”

The Secretary-General called on the international community “to hold the aggressor fully responsible for his illegal, unjustified and unacceptable attacks on a number of Arab countries,” calling on “Iran to immediately comply with the aforementioned Security Council resolution and to bear full responsibility for the damage and losses caused by these illegal attacks, requiring compensation and reparation according to what international law stipulates in these cases.”

He also pointed out that freedom of navigation in international straits and passages, including the Strait of Hormuz, is guaranteed by international law, and that this freedom in particular is almost the essence of the law of the sea.

He added, “Iran cannot extract for itself the right to control the Strait of Hormuz because it simply does not own it, and all the measures it imposes to restrict freedom of navigation or impose discriminatory traffic rules have no basis in law or established custom.”

Aboul Gheit explained that “the Arab League considers an attack on any Arab country or the practice of threats and intimidation against its civilian population an attack on all Arab countries,” stressing that “these brutal attacks will end and the Arab countries will emerge from this crisis stronger, more interconnected, and more mutually supportive.”

The meeting was held at the request of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the current president of the League Council session and the current president of the Security Council.