The Islamic Republic of Iran condemned Russia’s stance in support of the United Arab Emirates’ sovereignty claims over three Gulf islands.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Thursday that Tehran will not show “the slightest hesitation in maintaining its territorial integrity.”
He called the three islands “an inseparable part” of Iran, adding that the Islamic Republic considers as “non-negotiable” its territorial integrity and sovereignty over these islands.
The remarks came a day after the sixth Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum in Morocco concluded with a statement reiterating the UAE’s claim over the islands. The Russian delegation to the forum was led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“The statement supported peaceful solutions and initiatives aiming to resolve the conflict through bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice, according to international law and the UN Charter,” the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
Moscow had previously voiced its support for UAE’s claim back in July during a joint summit between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Russian Federation.
The United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claim to the islands, describing the situation as “the continued occupation by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The three 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, Mohammad Reza Shah sent the Iranian navy to secure all three islands. Iranian forces remain on the islands, with only Abu Musa having a civilian population which is less than two thousand.
The UAE first took this matter to the United Nations Security Council on 9 December 1971 because of Iran’s infringement of the sovereignty of the UAE and its violation of the UN Charter. At that time, the Security Council deferred action to allow the parties an opportunity to negotiate. Since then, the UAE government has consistently sought a diplomatic resolution to this matter, calling to resolve the dispute through direct, meaningful negotiations or arbitration, or to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for final resolution in accordance with international law.
Fifty two years after the initial invasion, the UAE still holds out its offer to Iran to resolve this dispute via one of the three options listed above; unfortunately, Iran has rejected such suggestions, and continues to refuse to discuss sovereignty over any of the islands.
News Agencies
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.