Iran spares no opportunity to reiterate sovereignty over Persian Gulf trio islands: FM

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has used every opportunity to firmly reiterate its sovereignty over the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf.

Araghchi made the remark late Wednesday when asked about a meeting between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan on Wednesday.

He said the Iranian president and his Emirati counterpart did not have an official meeting as they briefly met in the hall next to the summit venue, where heads of states and delegations gather prior to the main event.

He added that Pezeshkian and Al Nahyan mainly discussed the developments in Palestine and the need to stop the Israeli regime’s crimes in the Gaza Strip.

However, it is natural that bilateral issues are also raised in such meetings, the top Iranian diplomat noted.

“The UAE is one of the southern littoral states of the Persian Gulf and we have relations with all of these countries, which are considered important,” Araghchi said.

He emphasized that relations with the Persian Gulf littoral states, including the UAE, are among the good neighborliness policy pursued by the Islamic Republic.

Araghchi said that there are “serious” differences of opinion between Iran and the UAE, particularly regarding the trio islands.

However, "we have never ever lost any opportunity to express our stance on the islands firmly," he noted.  

The meeting took place days after the European Union and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued a joint statement during their first summit in Brussels on October 16, repeating allegations about Iran’s sovereignty over the three Persian Gulf islands -- Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa.

The 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.

Iran summons Hungary ambassador over EU-GCC’s unfounded claims on Persian Gulf trio islands

Iran summons Hungary’s ambassador in Tehran to protest against EU-GCC’s unfounded claims about the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf.

Iran on Sunday summoned the ambassador of Hungary, whose country currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, to convey Tehran’s strong protest to “unfounded” claims made by the PGCC states and the EU about the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf.

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