Iran summoned European ambassadors in Tehran on Wednesday to protest what it called interventionist and baseless remarks made in a joint statement by the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on its territorial claims and defense policies.
Political Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said the envoys and heads of European missions were called in after the EU-GCC communiqué questioned Iran’s sovereignty over three islands in the Persian Gulf and criticized its missile and regional activities.
“The summons followed the meddlesome allegations in the joint statement of the EU and GCC foreign ministers regarding Iran’s islands and its defensive issues,” Takht-Ravanchi said, according to state media.
The move is a response to an EU-GCC meeting whose final statement backed the UAE’s claim to Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb -- urging a peaceful settlement or referral to the ICJ -- and called for a strictly peaceful Iranian nuclear program, and curbs on the proliferation of missiles, drones and related technology.
Tehran rejects the UAE’s claims, says the three islands are integral Iranian territory, and accuses Western and Persian Gulf states of undermining its sovereignty.
The statement also called on Iran to restore full cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. It also pressed Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis to join UN-led talks, halt Red Sea attacks and free detained aid workers.
The move comes amid heightened tensions after UN sanctions were reimposed and renewed Western pressure over Iran’s nuclear and regional activities.
Speaking at the EU-GCC High-Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation in Kuwait, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc sought to “encourage Iran to act as a responsible power in the Middle East” while acknowledging that the return of UN sanctions was “a setback but not the end of diplomacy.”
Kallas also linked instability in the Red Sea to Iran’s support for Yemen’s Houthi group and urged continued dialogue to reduce tensions.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also accused Tehran of “projecting destabilizing influence” through its regional proxies and warned that Houthi attacks were endangering both Israel and international shipping routes.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed such criticism as politically motivated.
Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tuesday that “those who reimposed restrictions on Iran and accuse us of destabilization have no right to lecture us,” describing the remarks as shameful and hypocritical.
Baghaei added that European governments, which he said spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” on advanced weaponry, were in no position to question Iran’s indigenous defense capabilities.
