Gulf Cooperation Council: Houthis should be designated terrorists and Tehran must pay compensation

At their 168th session, held in Manama on Sunday, 18 October 2026, the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council called for Yemen's Houthis to be placed on the list of terrorist groups and held the Islamic Republic responsible for missile and drone attacks on member states and Jordan. The statement followed DIAR's earlier report on these countries' request to Russia to rein in the Islamic Republic.

The final statement of the session, chaired by Bahrain's foreign minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, calls on the Islamic Republic to stop these attacks immediately and unconditionally and to pay for the damage. The ministers stressed that any agreement with Tehran must cover not only the nuclear programme but also the missile and drone programme and support for proxy groups in the region, and that member states must take part in any negotiation that concerns their security.

Condemnation of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

The Council's foreign ministers strongly condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including on civilian airports, vital facilities and the areas around Mecca and Medina, and, citing the Council's joint defence pact and Article 51 of the UN Charter, declared their full solidarity with Riyadh. They asked the United Nations to enforce in full the arms embargo on the Houthis under Security Council resolutions 2216 and 2722, so that no missiles or drones reach the group.

The statement also called for the situation in the Strait of Hormuz to return to what it was before the American and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic, and condemned illegal restrictions, forced tolls, mine-laying and threats to commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab-el-Mandeb and the Red Sea.

Background

At the same time as the session, the ninth strategic dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Council and Russia took place in Manama with Sergey Lavrov present, and the member states asked Moscow to use its influence to make the Islamic Republic stop the attacks. Lavrov is due to travel to Tehran on Monday, 19 October. Attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Houthis, allies of the Islamic Republic, have intensified in recent weeks, and one attack on Riyadh airport left 13 dead; DIAR previously reported that IRGC officers are directing the targeting of these attacks.

The Gulf states now officially hold the Islamic Republic responsible for the attacks on their territory and demand compensation from it.