Iran Dismisses Proposal of Taking Island Dispute with UAE to UN

Xinhua News Agency:

Iran on Saturday dismissed a recent proposal by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that the issue of the three disputed Persian Gulf islands be referred to the United Nations for arbitration, the official IRNA news agency reported. READ MORE

"The three islands of Abu Moussa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs are an inseparable part of the Iranian territory and any claim in this regard is rejected," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi was quoted as saying.

The three islands, standing in the mouse of the strategic Hormuz strait, have been controlled by Iran since British withdrawal from the region in 1971, but claimed by the UAE.

The UAE has recently proposed that the issue of the three islands be submitted to the United Nations.

Rejecting the UAE request, Asefi said that the efforts by the UAE to raise the issue at regional and international circles were unwise.

"The UAE government had better work on bolstering regional cooperation and convergence in order to serve the interests of regional countries and their people and strengthen stability and security in this vital region," Asefi said.

The spokesman also urged the UAE to "avoid stoking up controversial issues at a time when the Persian Gulf region needs tranquility and peace for progress and prosperity."

Asefi stressed that the only way to remove existing misunderstanding over disputed islands was to continue bilateral dialogue in an "amicable atmosphere far from controversies and propaganda."