Iranian Official Warns UAE of Damaging Repercussions of Hostile Remarks
An Iranian military official warned the UAE authorities against careless remarks and positions on the ownership of the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf, saying that in case a war breaks out, the UAE will sustain serious damages.
“If ill-wishers start a fire, serious damage to the United Arab Emirates will be the first outcome,” an official from the Iranian Armed Forces told FNA on Saturday.
The official, who requested to remain anonymous, made the remarks in reaction to the baseless comments by the UAE police chief on a possible regional war on the ownership of the three Iranian islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf.
The official expressed regret that the UAE police officials can make decisions on the country’s defensive and security policies, and said the UAE police chief shouldn’t be allowed to make such utterances because the country’s foreign policy does not lie within the domain of his authorities.
He also advised the UAE’s diplomatic apparatus and government officials to prevent the utterance of such unfriendly and warmongering words.
The UAE which says it does not accept international treaties and agreements about the ownership of Abu Musa Island, recently called its ambassador from Tehran after Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the Island.
Also, 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 was an internal issue only related to Iran’s state sovereignty.
Also, Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan called on the UAE to end its baseless claims to Iranian territories, and warned that if diplomacy fails, the military will be ready for action over Iran’s three Persian Gulf islands.
“If the plot is not resolved through diplomacy, military forces are ready to show the prowess of the establishment to the claimant,” Pourdastan told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the National Army Day.
The political leaders of the United Arab Emirates softened their tone about ownership of three Persian Gulf islands after Pourdastan’s warnings.
”We will remain neighbors forever despite our differences,” UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash told Dubai TV last Saturday.
”We are following a long-patience policy,” he said, stressing that escalating the situation would not be in his country’s interest.
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.
