Iran

EC Secretary Urges UAE Officials to Apologize to Iran for Irresponsible Remarks

Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezayee condemned the UAE officials for their irresponsible remarks on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to the Iranian island of Abu Musa in the Persian Gulf, and said the Emirati officials should apologize to Tehran.

“Emirati officials had better apologize to Iran and not be dragged onto the same path as the Zionists because the region needs tranquility, peace and cooperation. If they have any objections, they can politely convey their objection to the Iranian government via diplomatic channels,” Rezayee said on Saturday.

He went on to say that the UAE has been issuing statements on three Iranian islands – Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa – for years.

“The UAE government sometimes uses a fake name for the Persian Gulf, but Iran continues its friendship and collaboration with the UAE with patience and by ignoring such wrong behavior,” he added.

Rezayee said the UAE government has apparently misunderstood Iran’s friendship or is trying to appease foreign parties due to pressures.

“It would better for the UAE government to maintain honest and friendly relations with Iran and not repeat its (earlier) mistake of cooperating with (Iraq’s former dictator) Saddam Hussein,” he concluded.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Abu Musa Island on Wednesday as part of his tour of the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan.

After the visit, the UAE recalled its ambassador from Tehran Saif Mohammed Abid al-Zaabi in protest at Ahmadinejad’s official trip to the Iranian island.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday described President Ahmadinejad’s visit to the island as “an internal affair which has been made in the framework of his provincial tours.”

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 agreements, 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.

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