Tehran slams Arab-Russian statement on Iranian trio islands as interference in internal affairs

Tehran has condemned a joint statement from several Arab countries and Russia about Iran’s three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb as an interference in its internal affairs, stressing that it will not hesitate to preserve its territorial integrity.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said on Thursday that the final statement of the 6th Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum in Morocco on the three Iranian islands was regarded as interference in Iran’s internal affairs.

“The meeting was held in the presence of some Arabs, who are ignoring the fate of the Palestinians, and Russian experts in Morocco and issued a statement that has various flaws, the most important of which is interference in Iran's affairs," he said, condemning the statement.

The UAE which has taken a "regrettable" stance on the Palestinians and backed Israel's killing of the oppressed people of Gaza, keeps bringing up this "baseless claim" of the trio islands instead of implementing practical measures to stop the Israeli onslaught in Gaza.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, as the rightful owner of the trio islands, will closely watch the actions of those who wish to harm the national and regional interests and will respond accordingly," he said.

Velayati added that the islands’ ownership “will not be affected by such poor meetings.”

Iran pulls no punches over its territorial integrity: Amir-Abdollahian on Persian Gulf islands

The Iranian FM has blasted a recent joint statement by the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Russian Federation about the three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.

Calling on Russia to pay further careful attention to its stances regarding the Islamic Republic, the senior advisor said “The strategic and friendly relations between Iran and Russia have not been achieved easily."

“In such circumstances that Russia is in a complex international situation, some positions of the Russian Foreign Ministry are regrettable," he said, acknowledging that "although, some political pressures on Russia in the current complicated situation will cause it to damage its reputation in order to obtain a worthless point.”

The three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world.

However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claim to the islands.

The islands fell under British control in 1921 but on November 30, 1971, a day after British forces left the region and just two days before the UAE was to become an official federation, Iran’s sovereignty over the islands was restored. 

'No hesitation to preserve territorial integrity'

In a separate statement on Thursday, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson also dismised the claims on the three Iranian islands as "baseless and unacceptable."

“The Iranian islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb, located in the blue waters of the Persian Gulf, eternally belong to Iran and are an inseparable part of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s land,” Nasser Kanaani stressed.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not consider its territorial integrity and sovereignty over the three islands negotiable and rejects any claim by any side on the issue and will not back down from its sovereignty and territorial rights in any way,” he added.

The spokesperson underlined the policy of promoting ties with the neighboring countries and the need to respect the principle of good neighborliness.

He said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran asks all its northern and southern neighbors to take the actual and potential capacities at the bilateral and regional levels into account and take steps to boost ties and refrain from making and repeating certain rejected claims.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate a bit to preserve its territorial integrity.”

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