Marrakech – Representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Thursday expressed their sincere gratitude to King Mohammed VI for Morocco’s firm support and clear solidarity with Gulf nations in the face of Iranian aggression, as missile and drone strikes targeting the region enter their third week with no sign of abating.
The remarks came during the 8th Morocco-GCC Joint Ministerial Meeting, held via videoconference and attended by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, GCC Secretary-General Jassem Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, and ministers and representatives from all GCC member states.
In their respective interventions, Gulf ministers commended what they called Morocco’s “fraternal and active solidarity,” particularly amid what they described as unjustified Iranian military escalation and repeated violations of Gulf states’ sovereignty.
They said Morocco’s position, under the King’s leadership, reflects the depth of historic and fraternal ties binding the kingdom to GCC countries.
The Gulf representatives also voiced appreciation for the King’s early diplomatic initiative at the onset of the Iranian aggression, when he conducted a series of phone calls with GCC leaders.
Those calls included exchanges with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
During those conversations, the monarch reaffirmed Morocco’s categorical condemnation of what he termed “abject aggressions” targeting the sovereignty and territorial security of fellow Gulf states. He also expressed full backing for whatever legitimate measures those nations deem necessary to safeguard their security and the safety of their citizens.
Thursday’s session builds on a series of Moroccan diplomatic moves since the conflict erupted on February 28. In a phone call with Al-Budaiwi on March 6, Bourita condemned what the GCC described as “brutal Iranian attacks” and reaffirmed Rabat’s full solidarity with Gulf states in confronting any threat to their security, stability, and sovereignty.
Two days later, addressing an emergency Arab League ministerial session, Bourita sharpened Morocco’s tone further. He accused the Iranian regime of pursuing expansionist and destabilizing policies aimed at sowing discord across the Arab world through the creation of proxy militias.
He described the attacks as a flagrant breach of sovereignty and a direct threat to regional security, and called for a unified Arab stance to halt the aggression and open the door for diplomatic efforts.
Bourita also invoked King Mohammed VI’s 2016 address at the Morocco-GCC Summit, in which the monarch declared that defending shared Arab security “is not only a common duty; it is one and indivisible.”
Morocco, the minister added, has always considered Gulf stability to be inseparable from its own. “What harms you harms us, and what affects us affects you,” Bourita told Arab ministers.
The ministerial meeting came one day after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2817, which condemned Iran’s attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan, and demanded an immediate halt to hostilities. The resolution, co-sponsored by 135 countries, passed with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions from Russia and China.
Since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28 – killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as other senior officials and reportedly more than 170 schoolchildren – Tehran has retaliated with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israeli and American assets across the Gulf, striking energy infrastructure, military installations, and civilian areas.
Iranian strikes have wounded dozens, including children in Bahrain, hit fuel storage facilities in Oman, and forced interceptor systems into near-daily action in Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted a fifth of global oil supply, sending Brent crude past $100 a barrel and prompting the International Energy Agency (IEA) to recommend a release of 400 million barrels from strategic reserves.
GCC states have described the attacks as “treacherous” and “heinous,” while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has offered apologies even as the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) continued striking.
Morocco severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2018, accusing Tehran of colluding with the Polisario Front separatist group through Hezbollah.
Thursday’s session marks the latest expression of a deepening Morocco-GCC alignment, with Rabat positioning itself firmly alongside its Gulf partners at a moment when the region faces its most severe security crisis in decades.
