The Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general accused Iran of committing war crimes on Saturday after attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, sharpening the diplomatic fallout from the widening U.S.-Iran crisis.
In an official statement, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said the Iranian regime’s targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan constituted war crimes requiring immediate international accountability. The statement said the GCC stood with the three countries and supported measures to protect their security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
GCC Statement Raises The Diplomatic Stakes
CBS News reported that Albudaiwi described Iran’s actions as a dangerous escalation and a grave violation of international law and the United Nations Charter. The GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, all of which are U.S.-aligned Gulf states.
The accusation adds a formal regional-law framing to what had already become a direct infrastructure crisis. Kuwait has reported strikes on power and water systems, while Bahrain and Jordan have also reported Iranian attacks or interceptions as the conflict spills across U.S.-allied territory.
Kuwait Damage Became The Immediate Flashpoint
Reuters, carried by The Business Times, reported that Iranian strikes hit a Kuwaiti power generation and water desalination station, causing damage, a fire and the disruption of a large number of electricity generation units. The same report said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was concerned about attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region.
List25 previously reported on the Kuwaiti desalination strike and the temporary suspension of Kuwait International Airport operations. Saturday’s GCC statement is a new angle because it moves the crisis from individual strike reports into a coordinated regional demand for accountability.
The Crisis Is Spreading Beyond Direct U.S.-Iran Targets
The GCC statement did not end the exchange of claims between Iran and the United States. U.S. Central Command said its latest strikes were designed to degrade Iranian military capabilities, while Iranian officials have said their attacks are retaliation for U.S. operations.
The practical danger is that the conflict is now reaching systems civilians depend on: water, electricity, airports, ports and shipping lanes. Whether or not international bodies act on the GCC’s war-crimes accusation, the statement signals that Gulf governments are treating the latest Iranian attacks as more than battlefield retaliation.