Tension in PG, detrimental to region: Iran MP

A senior Iranian lawmaker has warned Iran’s neighboring countries that creating tension could have detrimental consequences for the region.

“[Neighboring] countries must pay more attention to collective decisions so that they can provide regional security through cooperation and prevent foreigners from exploiting the situation,” Kazem Jalali said on Wednesday.

Jalali also criticized a statement by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) about the Iranian President’s visit to the Abu Musa island as “meddling in the country’s internal affairs.”

“The officials of the Islamic Republic, particularly the president can travel to part of the country and any comment [by other states] regarding this issue is considered as meddling in Iran’s internal affairs,” he added.

On April 11, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the Iranian island of Abu Musa in the Persian Gulf as part of his tour of the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan.

The [P]GCC has criticized Ahmadinejad’s visit to Abu Musa as the “violation of the sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates over its three islands.”

The Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa have historically been part of Iran, the proof of which can be found in and corroborated by countless historical, legal and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the UAE has repeatedly laid claims on the islands.