DOHA, June 10. /TASS/. Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reserve the right to collective self-defense and to respond by all lawful means in the face of attacks by Iran, according to a statement issued after a meeting of the bloc's Ministerial Council in Manama.

"The Council affirms the established and legitimate right of its states to defend themselves, individually and collectively, and to respond to this aggression by all legitimate means, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations," the statement said.

The document stressed that the security of GCC member states is indivisible and that an attack on one of them would be regarded as an assult on the bloc as a whole. The ministers also said that air defense systems had successfully intercepted Iranian missiles and drones launched toward Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

Overnight into Wednesday, US armed forces carried out strikes on Iranian territory in response to the destruction of a US military helicopter. Iran subsequently targeted US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait. Later, US President Donald Trump threatened to order new strikes on Iranian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.