Riyadh 0
20 December 2021

GCC and UK foreign ministers jointly underscored that “this is the last opportunity to restore the JCPOA as Iran’s continued nuclear escalation is permanently eroding the benefits of the deal and undermining regional and international security”, adding: “the JCPOA is the best avenue towards inclusive, and more lasting diplomatic efforts to ensure regional security in a Gulf region permanently free of nuclear weapons”. They further raised “grave concern about the escalation in Iran’s destabilising activities in the region” and denounced “the proliferation of advanced ballistic missiles and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) used by Iran and its proxies in hundreds of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson characterised the communique as “baseless” and maintained: “[Iran] considers the means of resolution of the regional problems to lie in interaction and cooperation, and therefore welcomes whatever constructive initiative in this area”.

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