TEHRAN, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday denounced as "baseless" the recent claims made by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) about his country's share of a gas field located in a neutral maritime zone between Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

At a weekly press conference in the Iranian capital of Tehran, Kanaani reiterated Iran's principled positions on the issue, adding the "baseless" unilateral claims would not safeguard any right for the claimant.

A GCC ministerial meeting said on Sunday in a communique that the entire Al-Durra gas field, known as Arash in Iran, and its natural resources are jointly owned by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Reacting to the GCC remarks, Kanaani stressed that Iran had always, based on bilateral talks with the Kuwaiti government, valued constructive cooperation on extraction activities in the joint gas field for common interests.

He highlighted the necessity to continue legal and technical negotiations in meetings with the Kuwaiti side.

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iran have a long-lasting dispute over the ownership of the offshore gas field. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement on jointly developing the gas field in March 2022. Iran denounced the agreement as "illegal" and said it violated previous negotiations.

Iran and Kuwait have held talks for many years over their disputed maritime border area, which is rich in natural gas, but failed to map border demarcation and end disputes. Enditem

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