Leaders of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Tuesday reiterated a call to solve the Iranian nuclear issue peacefully.

The controversial Iranian nuclear program figured high on the agenda of the 12th consultative summit held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh amid concerns that a standoff between Iran and the West could lead to a regional conflict.

The Gulf leaders also called on Iran to engage in direct dialogue with the United Arab Emirates to end a decades-long dispute on the three islands of Greater and Lesser Tubs and Abu Musa, or take the issue to the International Court of Justice, GCC Secretary-General Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah told a press conference following the meeting.

Security and military cooperation was also addressed in the informal meeting, Attiyah said.

Leaders of the GCC, the Gulf regional bloc consisting of Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, also stressed the importance of swiftly forming a government of national unity in Iraq to bring about security to the country, the GCC chief said.

They also lashed out at the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and the mass deportations of the Palestinians living in the West Bank, and denounced what they said the Israeli threats against Lebanon and Syria.