Imperialist UK ceded three Iranian islands: Former diplomat

A former Iranian diplomat says the three Persian Gulf islands of Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa definitely belong to Iran and the issue has already been proven by the available documents and maps.

“There is no doubt that this [Abu Musa] island [and the other two islands] belong to Iran. This has already been proven. With the documents and maps we had in our possession and even the maps that the Russians had and which they gave us, we proved these three islands belong to Iran,” Reza Qasemi, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s last ambassador to Kuwait said Tuesday.

He added that the contention over the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf dates back to the creation of a union of sheikhdoms in the Persian Gulf, which is now known as the United Arab Emirates.

“In fact, the creation of that union was a British idea. They aimed to put Iran, which had rightful claims to Bahrain and the three islands… in front of a group of Arab emirates. At that time, they talked of including Bahrain in the union as well,” the former ambassador said.

“Iran …clearly announced that as long as the issue of Bahrain and the three [Iranian] islands was not solved, it would not agree to the establishment of such a union which was forged by Britain,” he noted.

Qasemi further stated that the issue of the islands belonging to Iran was solved many years ago and is an outdated debate which should not be renewed on any ground.

“Abu Musa Island and the other two islands of Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb belong to Iran and there are documents to prove this. At that time, we even sent [military] forces to the islands to restore Iran’s ownership of the islands,” he added.

According to former Iranian envoy to Kuwait, after Iran sent forces to the islands, four Arab states lodged a complaint against Tehran with the UN Security Council.

“These four countries included Iraq, South Yemen, Libya, and Algeria. Iran’s representative to the Security Council presented a very comprehensive report and proved [Iran’s] ownership [of the islands],” he said.

As a result of Iran’s argument, Qasemi noted, the Security Council dropped the issue from its agenda and it is an internationally accepted principle that when the Security Council drops a subject, it cannot be raised again.

“Therefore, the UAE’s insistence on owning the islands and its claim to having sovereign right [to the islands] is totally wrong. Sovereignty is secondary to ownership; that is, in the absence of ownership there is no sovereignty,” he said.

The former diplomat concluded by saying that Iran and the UAE have signed an official agreement on this issue which can still be found in the archives of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.