Iran Reiterates Its Total Sovereignty Over 3 Islands
December 24, 2003
AFP
IranMania.com
TEHRAN -- Iran reiterated Wednesday its "total sovereignty" over three Persian Gulf islands currently in dispute with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the press reported.
"Iran maintains total sovereignty and possession of the three islands of the Greater and Lesser Tunbs as well as Abu Musa," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in reaction to final declaration of the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) summit meeting in Kuwait.
"Maintaining positive and constructive negotiations between officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the UAE government in an atmosphere of friendship and goodwill will lead to expansion of mutual cooperation, deepening of bilateral ties in various fields and removing the existing misunderstanding over the 1971 MoU (memorandum of understanding) on Abu Musa Island," he said.
Tehran gained control after British forces left the Persian Gulf in 1971. On Monday, the oil-rich Persian Gulf Arab monarchies at the end of their annual summit in Kuwait reaffirmed their support for the UAE in its dispute with Iran over the three islands.
Some three weeks ago Iran welcomed a UAE offer to boost ties but reaffirmed its sovereignty over the islands. The UAE federation was established in 1971 following Britain's pullout from the region, shortly after Tehran took control of the islands situated roughly halfway between the two countries.
The GCC groups the gas- and oil-rich states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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