DUBAI: Iran over the weekend told the United Arab Emirates that three islands under its control in the Persian Gulf will remain theirs, telling the UAE that they “will remain [ours] forever.” The Fars news agency on Saturday quoted a committee on national security and foreign policy of the Iranian Shura Council in denying the Emirates claims to the islands of Abu Musa as well as the Greater and Lesser Tunbs. Iran said that the UAE's claims to sovereignty were part of a plot by “foreign powers.” Committee spokesman Kazem Jalali criticized statements by UAE's Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in New York last week at the United Nations. “This is an issue that was dictated on [the foreign minister] by foreign powers who want the Middle East to always be mired in conflict and tension,” Jalali said. In his address to the UN General Assembly, Sheikh Abdullah said: “Since the illegitimate occupation of these islands in 1971, the UAE has adopted a flexible diplomatic approach to resolve this matter through peaceful means, through direct bilateral negotiations, or by referring the matter to the International Court of Justice. “However, the UAE expresses its deep concern over not achieving any progress in direct, regional, and international contacts made with the Islamic Republic of Iran in relation to reaching a peaceful, just and permanent solution.” Sheikh Abdullah urged Iran to enter into “serious and direct negotiations,” or refer the issue to the International Court of Justice. He said the Islands were “an integral part of the territorial sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates.” Iran, under the rule of the Western-backed shah, gained control of the islands in 1971, as Britain granted independence to its Gulf protectorates and withdrew its forces. BM
