Commander: UAE Claim on Iranian Islands Aimed at Propaganda

A senior Iranian military commander dismissed the claims raised by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the three Iranian islands of Abu Mussa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf, saying such allegations are only good for media hype.

“These are mere rhetoric good for media ballyhoo,” Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi said on Saturday.

After Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Abu Musa earlier this month, the UAE recalled its ambassador from Tehran in protest at Ahmadinejad’s official trip to the Iranian island.

Then on April 13, the foreign ministers of the six-nation Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) held an emergency meeting in Doha and issued a statement against the Iranian President’s visit to the Iranian island.

In reply, Iran said that the visit is an issue related to Iran’s state sovereignty.

International documents clearly show that the three islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa which were historically owned by Iran, temporarily fell to British control in 1903. The islands were returned to Iran based on an agreement in 1971 before the UAE was born.

Iran has repeatedly declared that its ownership of the three islands is unquestionable.

Under international law, no state can defy any agreement, which came into being before its establishment.

Yet, the UAE continues to make territorial claims against the Islamic Republic despite historical evidence and international regulations.