TEHRAN – Iran’s foreign
ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador to Tehran over Moscow’s support for the United Arab Emirate’s claim over three Iranian islands in a joint statement with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Tehran protested the challenging of its ownership over the Iranian islands and asked Russia to “correct its position” on the issue, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said the Russian envoy emphasized Russia’s respect for Iran’s territorial integrity and promised to relay the message of protest to Moscow.
On Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani rejected the statement over the islands, saying: “These islands perennially belong to Iran and issuing these kinds of statements is in contradiction to Iran’s friendly relations with its neighbors.”
In the statement, issued by Russia and the GCC after a joint strategic dialogue meeting on Monday in Moscow, Iran’s ownership of the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa are challenged.
Speaking following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Muhammad Dehghan, the Iranian president’s deputy for legal affairs, also dismissed the UAE’s claims, saying all past documents indicate Iran’s indisputable ownership of the islands.
“Some regional rulers are trying to forge documents and bribe a number of international legal experts, which is void of legal value. Old documents on the issue are clear, and because the basis of our movement is legal, then we have no doubts on this,” he told reporters.
Iran’s foreign minister also rejected the joint statement, saying Tehran will not soften its stance over its territorial integrity.
“We do not pull any punches with any side over the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran,” Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said in a Persian-language tweet on Wednesday.
Iran had recently called in the Chinese envoy after President Xi Jinping signed a joint statement with the GCC in December that supported the UAE’s claims to the islands.
The three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world.
The islands fell under British control in 1921 but on November 30, 1971, a day after British forces left the region and just two days before the UAE was to become an official federation, Iran’s sovereignty over the islands was restored.