ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s foreign ministry on Friday slammed a joint statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Washington, which called for addressing “Iran’s threats,” as “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative.”

On Thursday, the GCC said in a joint statement with the US, that lasting regional peace requires addressing “the full spectrum of Iran’s threats, including its ballistic missiles, drones, and support of proxies in the region,” while stressing that any future understandings must safeguard the GCC countries’ interests, security, and stability.

The Iranian foreign affairs ministry described the statement as “interventionist, irresponsible, and provocative, and [warned] against the continuation of belligerent and interventionist behaviors in the region.”

“Talking about Iran's missile and drone program is irresponsible and completely condemned,” the ministry added, asserting it is “obvious” that Iran will not make the “slightest concession” in its defense capabilities.

The ministry said that the notion of the US’ commitment to safeguarding the GCC member states’ security is “nothing more than rhetoric and a distortion of reality,” arguing that America’s use of regional countries’ territories to launch strikes against Iran is the “cause of insecurity and division in the region.”

The joint statement came following a meeting chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani in Manama, and attended by foreign ministers of the GCC member states.

Tehran called on the GCC countries to “prevent any use by third parties of their territories and facilities to plan, organize, support, and carry out illegal actions, including military aggression,” against Iran.

The foreign ministry expressed its “disgust” at the joint statement, slamming the US and the GCC’s “shared objective” of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as a “big lie” fabricated by Washington against “Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.”

It further called on the Gulf council to join Iran “in realizing the initiative for a nuclear-weapon-free” Middle East, instead of “aligning themselves with the United States.”