The non-nuclear case against Iran (last chapter)

It's official: the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb belong to the United Arab Emirates and not to Iran, which is illegally occupying them!

The United Arab Emirates slammed Iran on Tuesday for terming as a "misunderstanding" their row over three Gulf islands, saying the islands were under Iranian occupation and were no less precious than Arab lands occupied by Israel.

"It seems the Iranian side does not want to understand. There is no 'misunderstanding' between us but an actual occupation" of the strategic islands controlled by Iran and claimed by the UAE, a foreign ministry official said.

"There is no occupied land more sacred than another occupied land. Occupation is occupation, whether it is by Israel, Iran or any other country," he said, requesting anonymity. The official was responding to remarks by Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini on Sunday in which he rejected the UAE's quest for Russian mediation in the dispute.

"Iran-UAE ties are at their best level and if there is a misunderstanding it can be resolved via bilateral talks and there is no need for others to intervene," Hosseini said. The speaker of the UAE Federal National Council, an assembly which advises the government, said on Saturday that an FNC delegation which visited Moscow last week sought Russian mediation with Iran to persuade it to discuss the status of the islands.

The UAE, supported by other Arab states, has repeatedly proposed resolving the dispute through direct negotiations or international arbitration, but Iran has always refused. "If they want to have a negotiation about the occupied islands, this has been our demand for decades," the Emirati official said, referring to Hosseini's remark that the issue can be resolved in bilateral talks. The 18th Session of the EU-GCC Joint Council concluded with a note of commendation for the UAE's initiatives on clean energy, notably the Masdar City project.

EU concern The European Union (EU) and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) expressed concern at the lack of progress towards resolution of the territorial conflict between the United Arab Emirates and Iran over Abu Musa and the Tunbs Islands. "The EU and the GCC support a peaceful solution to the conflict in accordance with international law, either through direct negotiations or by referring the issues to the international Court of Justice," said the communiqué. – AFP

***Russia has finally accepted the UAE's claim over the islands of Abu Musa and the two Tunb Islands, illegally occupied by Iran. The news has been reported by all major iranian agencies:

ISNA
Radio Farda
MehrNews
Fars

***Read also my previous articles on the illegal Iranian occupation of Abu Musa and the Tunbs:

The non-nuclear case against Iran (link)

The Arab States ask Iran to cease the occupation of Abu Musa! (link)

The non-nuclear case against Iran: cease the occupation of Abu Musa!(link)

Iran! Cease the occupation of Abu Musa! (link)

More on the Iranian occupation of three islands belonging to the UAE (link)

Russia to mediate in UAE-Iran islands row (link)

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