TEHRAN -- Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian has said the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf are eternal parts of the country’s territory, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic will never compromise on its territorial integrity.
“The islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf are inseparable parts of the pure land of Iran and belong to this motherland forever,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a post on his Twitter account.
He emphasized that Iran would never compromise with any country on the importance of respecting the Islamic Republic’s territorial integrity.
The top Iranian diplomat was reacting to a joint statement issued by China and states of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the end of their summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday.
In their statement, the leaders affirmed their support for all peaceful efforts, including the initiative and endeavors of the United Arab Emirates, to reach a peaceful solution to the issue of the three islands through bilateral negotiations in accordance with the rule of international law and to resolve this issue in accordance with international legitimacy.
The strategically-positioned islands of Abu Musa, the Lesser Tunb, and the Greater Tunb have always been part of Iran, the proof of which can be corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world.
Tehran has on numerous occasions stoutly rejected claims leveled by the Persian Gulf countries to the three Iranian islands, saying that they definitely belong to Iran and will remain sovereign Iranian territories forever.
The statement was issued on Friday at the end of the council’s 43rd summit, which coincided with the termination of an official visit to the kingdom by China’s President Xi Jinping.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman condemned the claims as the continuation of the council’s failed “Iranophobic policy” and a “futile attempt” by its members “to cover up their financial, political and logistical support for terrorist groups operating in the region”.
Nasser Kanaani referred to the enormous material and human losses inflicted on the regional people as a result of the “destructive policies” of a number of GCC members, urging the council to revisit its approaches to regional issues and rather adopt a “constructive” course of action.
Kanaani reasserted Iran’s principled position on the islands, calling them “an inseparable and permanent” part of the Islamic Republic’s territory.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers any claim to the islands to be destabilizing, intervention in its internal affairs and territorial sovereignty, and strongly condemns it,” he said.
Kanaani said the Islamic Republic’s armed forces are determined to preserve the maritime security of the regional waters, and such statements could not dent their resolve to protect the security of their country and the region.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Kanaani said the Chinese Ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua was invited to the foreign ministry to be informed of Iran’s “intense discontent” over the final statement’s interventionist approach to Iran’s territorial integrity, repeating Iran’s rightful ownership of the three Persian Gulf Islands.
“Like any other part of the Iranian territory, the three islands have never been and will never be subject to negotiation with any country,” the spokesman said.
For his part, the Chinese envoy reaffirmed Beijing’s respect for Iran’s territorial integrity, saying Xi paid the visit to Riyadh at the time of the summit as part of Beijing’s efforts to help further consolidate regional peace and stability, and to promote negotiation as an instrument of resolving the regional problems, the spokesman said.
The ambassador added that Beijing’s foreign policy towards the Persian Gulf region is based on “balance,” noting that an upcoming visit to Iran by the Chinese deputy prime minister will prove this approach. The Iranian parliament’s deputy speaker on Sunday underscored the territorial integrity of the country, saying the Islamic Republic will give a “harsh and regrettable” response to any of its neighbors’ excessive ambitions.
Speaking at the beginning of the parliament’s open session, Ali Nikzad stressed that the policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been to neither dominate nor be dominated.
“Proving the absolute sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran over the three islands does not even require legal review and international treaties and United Nations’ documents,” Nikzad said in his address to the Iranian parliamentarians.
“A short museum visit and viewing of old maps is enough to prove that this is the Persian Gulf; not a word more and not a word less, and these islands absolutely belong to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added. Stressing that Iran favors prosperous, secure and economically-booming neighbors, the senior lawmaker said, “But at the same time, if we see excessive ambitions, the response of the powerful and strong Iran will be regrettable, whether the ambition is to change the borders and reduce a neighbor, or to allow to the mercenary groups in the western region of the country and whether it is some gibberish about the three islands belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“Iran does not interfere in the internal affairs of neighboring countries” Nikzad stressed, adding that “Iran will never compromise on its national integrity with any country.” The senior lawmaker described the policy of good neighborliness as a fixed tenet in the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy and said, “Iran has always proven to be a great friend and supporter of its neighbors.”