NOURNEWS- Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has cautioned certain neighboring countries against making what he called unrealistic remarks about the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf to avoid tarnishing their ties with the Islamic Republic.
Vahidi was speaking on Thursday as he visited Bumusa Island in southern Iran. Abu Musa along with the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb are the three Persian Gulf islands which historically belong to Iran, but have been a source of friction with the UAE over its ownership claims that Tehran has repeatedly rejected, citing historical facts.
The issue came to the spotlight again following a December 21st statement released by the 6th Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum in Morocco that voiced support for peaceful solutions to resolve what the participants called a conflict between Iran and the UAE over the islands.
The Iranian interior minister rejected the “unfounded, unrealistic, and false” remarks about the three Iranian islands, saying that such remarks had been previously made.
“These issues are retold to disrupt ties between countries”, the minister said, urging Iran’s neighbors not to repeat those remarks any longer.
“The neighboring countries should be careful that they do not tarnish their ties with a great country like Iran by making such remarks.”
Following the Russian-Arab statement in Morocco, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian charge d’affaires, in the absence of the country’s ambassador, to protest Moscow’s repeated support for claims on Iran’s trio of Persian Gulf islands.
Back in July, Russia also drew Iran’s anger by supporting a joint statement with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council over the three islands. At that time, Iran summoned the Russian ambassador to protest Moscow’s move.
NOURNEWS