Ministers to review Iran’s response to GCC dialogue proposal

Manama: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers will on Thursday follow up on the proposal to launch a strategic dialogue with Iran.

The ministers will review at their meeting the latest developments on the proposal following the exchange of visits and messages between Kuwait, Oman and Iran, Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al Jarallah said.

“There will be certain steps to be taken in this regard,” Al Jarallah told reporters in Kuwait City on Sunday evening, Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) reported.

The official added that Kuwait had informed the leaders of the GCC states about the content of the message it received recently from Iran.

The GCC, established in 1981, comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The alliance in December agreed at its summit in Bahrain to convey an offer to Iran to start a strategic dialogue that would improve relations, at their lowest levels in decades, and ensure the security and stability of the region.

The GCC countries insisted that Iran cease its interference in their domestic affairs and comply with good neighbourliness principles in order to move forward towards better ties and greater cooperation.

Kuwait’s Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah in January sent the offer to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Tehran said that it welcomed the idea of the dialogue.

Iran’s response was later forwarded to the GCC leaders amid hopes that Tehran would move towards healthier relations with their countries.

Relations between most GCC countries and Iran are at their lowest level and Saudi Arabia and Bahrain last year cut off their diplomatic ties with their neighbour across the Arabian Gulf following attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and general consulate in the northern city of Mashhad.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a major agreement that should allow 80,000 Iranians to perform Haj this year, a reverse from last year when the Iranian authorities banned its citizens from travelling to Makkah where the fifth pillar of Islam is held annually.