Riyadh [Saudi Arabia], March 19 : As tensions continue to rise in West Asia and the Gulf amid the developing security situation, the Foreign Ministers of key Arab and Islamic countries held a consultative ministerial meeting in Riyadh regarding the Iranian attacks, as per a statement by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry.
As per the statement, the meeting held on Wednesday was attended by Foreign Ministers from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkiye, and the UAE.
According to the statement, the ministers stressed the need for Iran to abide by implementing the Security Council Resolution 2817 (2026), which called for an immediate halt to all attacks, and unconditional cessation of any provocative acts or threats against neighboring states, and the cessation of support, financing and arming its affiliated militias in Arab countries, which Iran is doing to serve its goals and against the interests of these countries.
Furthermore, to refrain from any measures or threats aimed at closing or obstructing international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz or threatening maritime security in Bab al-Mandab.
The ministers discussed the Iranian attacks on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye, and they affirmed their condemnation and denunciation of these Iranian deliberate attacks with ballistic missiles and drones which targeted residential areas, civilian infrastructure, including oil facilities, desalination plants, airports, residential buildings, and diplomatic premises. The ministers further affirmed that such attacks could not be justified under any pretext or in any manner whatsoever. The ministers also stressed the right of states to defend themselves in accordance with Article (51) of the United Nations Charter, as per the statement.
The ministers called on Iran to immediately halt its attacks and affirmed the necessity of respecting international law, international humanitarian law, and the principles of good neighborliness, as a first step toward ending the escalation, achieving security and stability in the region, and promoting diplomacy as a means to resolve the crisis and further emphasized that the future of relations with Iran depends on respecting the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs, as well as refraining from violating their sovereignty or their territories in any manner whatsoever, and not using or developing its military capabilities to threaten countries of the region.
The ministers also expressed support for the security, stability and territorial integrity of Lebanon and condemned Israel's aggression against the country.
The statement concluded by noting that the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continuing intensive consultation and coordination in this regard, to monitor developments and assess emerging issues in a way that ensures the formulation of common positions and the adoption of necessary legitimate measures and procedures to protect their security, stability, and sovereignty, and to halt the "Iranian heinous attacks" on their territories.
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Meanwhile, the conflict in West Asia, which is in its third week now, has seen critical expansion in the scale of attacks mounted by both US-Israel and Tehran. On Wednesday night (local time) the Iranians hit back after an Israel strike targeted the South Pars Gas field. On their target Gas fields in Qatar.
Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City was hit by ballistic missiles from Iran, resulting in extensive damage, as per the country's Ministry of Defence. The attack is the second to take place in the last 12 hours at the largest liquefaction facility in the world.
Qatar's Ministry of Interior (MOI) informed that the massive fire that broke at Ras Laffen industrial area after a strike has been contained with no casualties being reported.
The country has declared the military and security attaches at the Iranian Embassy, along with their staff, "persona non grata" and has requested that they leave the country within 24 hours, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.