Gulf Cooperation Council Seeks Full Compensation From Iran for Damage Caused by Attacks on Gulf States

Key Facts

The Gulf Cooperation Council called on Iran to accept responsibility for attacks on its member states and compensate them for the resulting damage, in a move presented by Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi to the Security Council on 13 November 2026. Albudaiwi said the council holds Tehran "fully responsible for these attacks and their consequences," rejecting any justification for targeting member states and saying they were not party to the war. The demand places reparations within a broader council debate over Gulf security and trade and energy corridors. In a letter to the Security Council, Bahrain, on behalf of the council's member states, said the attacks caused civilian deaths and injuries, significant material damage and disruption to international air traffic in the region. The letter called for Iran to bear responsibility for compensation.

Albudaiwi said the attacks targeted airports, ports, oil and gas facilities, power and desalination plants, and residential areas. Bahrain's letter to the council said most targets in the Gulf states were civilian, listing airports, ports, infrastructure, the energy sector, food supplies, roads and residential buildings. The list broadens the scope of damage the council says was inflicted on civilian life and economic activity, as well as facilities linked to energy production and transport. The compensation demand comes as concerns persist over vessel traffic through the Gulf and surrounding waterways. Khaled Khiari, the United Nations assistant secretary-general, said shipping in the Gulf remained below pre-war levels despite the recovery in energy exports through alternative routes. He added that this "should not be understood as a return to normal conditions."

Data from the International Maritime Organization, according to its register published through 11 November 2026, show 25 seafarer deaths among the confirmed maritime incidents it tracks. The data cover the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, while the organization describes its incident page as covering the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East. These incidents underscore the maritime dimension of the crisis in a region where energy and trade flows depend on major sea routes. Separately, Saudi Arabia rerouted about 4 million barrels of crude oil per day through the East-West pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea, equivalent to about 4% of global oil supplies at the time the report was published on 13 November. The alternative route shows how energy exports continued to recover while shipping in the Gulf remained below pre-war levels, according to Khiari.

Iran's deputy representative to the United Nations, Gholam Hossein Darzi, responded by accusing Gulf states of facilitating U.S. attacks on Iran, saying they had violated the U.N. Charter and international law and must be held accountable. The response sets the Gulf compensation demand against a backdrop of mutual accusations at the United Nations. Albudaiwi said any future agreement with Iran should address Gulf states' security concerns, including its nuclear program, ballistic missiles, drones and support for armed groups. In November, U.S. President Donald Trump said he viewed the war with Iran as "effectively" over militarily, while an Associated Press report said indirect talks were continuing and Iran was making demands that included compensation for war damage. Among the Iranian demands cited in the report were an end to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets, alongside compensation, before entering nuclear talks.