Iran rejects GCC statement on disputed Persian Gulf islands

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iranian has dismissed a recent “baseless” statement of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that supported the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) sovereignty over three Persian Gulf islands, local media reported on Sunday.

The three Persian Gulf islands, the Abu Musa, the Greater Tunbs and the Lesser Tunbs, are “indispensable” parts of Iran, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying by Iran daily news paper.

Last Tuesday, the GCC foreign ministers’ meeting in Doha of Qatar issued a final statement, reiterating support to the UAE’s claims of “sovereignty” over the three islands, “including their regional waters, airspace, continental shelf and their exclusive economic zone, as integral parts of the UAE.”

The repetition of the claims are “baseless” and cannot mar the historical realities, the Iranian spokesperson said, as the Islamic republic has reiterated that ownership of the three islands is a “historical fact.”

Iran and the UAE have both claimed territorial sovereignty over the three islands, and have been at odds over them for decades. The islands are currently under Iran’s control./End/