Istanbul / Anadolu

The diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, Anwar Gargash, said on Friday that upgrading the collective work of the Gulf Cooperation Council has become an 'urgent necessity' to enhance the security and stability of member states.

This came in a post by Gargash on the American company X platform, amid escalating confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

The United States has been launching strikes on areas inside Iran for days, while Tehran responds with attacks on what it says are American military bases and facilities in regional countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.

Gargash said: 'The Gulf Cooperation Council was founded to enhance the security and stability of member states, and today upgrading the collective cooperation of the council has become an urgent necessity.'

He added: 'The current performance, however modest it may seem, should be a catalyst to strengthen the role of the council and develop its effectiveness towards our common security, and it should not entrench acceptance of the status quo.'

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf was founded on May 25, 1981, and includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, and aims to achieve coordination, integration, and interconnection among member states.