The Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union condemn the Iranian attacks and demand that they stop in the Strait of Hormuz

The Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union condemned in the strongest terms the attacks carried out by Iran against commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and against the sovereign territories of states in the region, including Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman and Jordan, as acts that cannot be justified in any way, endangered the lives of civilians and sailors, and violated international law and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2817.
The two sides called on Iran to immediately and unconditionally stop all attacks and all forms of interference in maritime navigation, and to keep the Strait of Hormuz open in a sustainable manner and without any conditions, transit fees, or service fees, stressing the necessity of full compliance with international law and Security Council Resolution No. 2817.
The two sides rejected as illegitimate any claims of sovereignty or control over the Strait of Hormuz by any country, and opposed imposing any system of permits, transit fees, or fees for services on international shipping traffic, stressing that no bilateral arrangement, understanding, or memorandum between countries may illegally regulate or restrict the right of passage through an international strait. They also rejected the imposition of any unilateral or illegal mechanism or arrangement that affects the safety of passage through the strait, which may not be subject to the control or permission of any country.
The two sides reaffirmed that freedom of navigation, including the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, as a strait used for international navigation, is guaranteed to all states under international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and no state may suspend, obstruct, or subject it to any conditions.
The two sides expressed their full solidarity with the countries affected by these attacks, and with sailors of all nationalities who were exposed to danger, stressing that any attack on the security of a country represents a source of concern for all parties that depend on the safety of this vital waterway, and that countries must work within the framework of international and regional institutions concerned with the governance, safety and security of maritime navigation, and support them, especially the International Maritime Organization.
This came in the joint statement issued by the High Representative of the European Union, Kaya Kallas, on behalf of the European Union, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in his capacity as Chairman of the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, on the occasion of the High-Level Forum for Regional Security and Cooperation, which was held in Brussels on July 13, 2026, under their joint chairmanship.
At the conclusion of the statement, the two sides affirmed the continuation of close coordination in order to maintain freedom of navigation, support the protection of international shipping and seafarers, and promote just and lasting peace and security in the region, in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter, while continuing to call for restraint, and reaffirming the firm commitment to dialogue and diplomacy as the two ways to resolve the crisis, and to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.