Abu Dhabi: United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, called on Iran to end the occupation of the three Emirati islands, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
In her speech at the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in Newyork, on Saturday, the minister explained that the UAE renews its demand to end Iran’s occupation of the three Emirati islands— Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa.
She stated, “In this context, we renew our demand to end Iran’s occupation of the three Emirati islands: the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, over which history and international law prove my country’s sovereignty.”
“We affirm that, despite Iran’s failure to respond to my country’s sincere calls to resolve the conflict by peaceful means over the past five decades, we will never stop claiming our legitimate right to these islands, either through direct negotiation or the International Court of Justice,” she added.
She noted that efforts should be made to overcome the state of inactivity, which has become the most prominent feature of the current international approach to dealing with crises.
The Emirati minister called for “moving towards finding lasting, comprehensive and just solutions to the escalating armed conflicts around the world, and addressing the repercussions resulting from the turmoil in the international scene.”
On September 10, in a press statement in response to the statement issued by the 153rd meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council on the same issue, Tehran stressed that “the three islands: Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb, are an integral part of Iranian territory.”
The mentioned islands are three strategically located east of the Arabian Gulf. While the UAE says that it is part of its territory and demands Iran, which has controlled it since 1971, to return it, Tehran asserts that its ownership of the islands is “non-negotiable”.
Iran seized the three islands on November 30, 1971, days after the British colonial forces withdrew from them, and two days before the UAE gained independence from Britain. At that time, about 300 people lived off of fishing and herding livestock.
