Iran dismisses baseless claims of PGCC countries on Persian Gulf islands

The country’s UN ambassador said such allegations amount to a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.

Iravani made the remarks on Monday in a letter to the UN chief and the president of the Security Council.

He reaffirmed Iran’s full and unquestionable sovereignty over the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf.

The ambassador added that any claim to the contrary is considered an unacceptable interference in Iran’s internal affairs.

In their final statement, the council’s foreign ministers questioned Iran’s sovereignty over the three islands, claiming that they belonged to the United Arab Emirates.

Iravani also denounced the use of a falsified name for the Persian Gulf in the meeting’s statement.

He emphasized that “Persian Gulf” is the only historically and legally recognized name for the body of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.

Iravani said that the council’s foreign ministers ‘statement includes assertions on three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf that constitute a clear and unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.”

“These baseless claims are firmly rejected, and the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns and denounces them in their entirety,” he stated.

“In this regard, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms its full and unquestionable sovereignty over the Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf,” the ambassador said.

“Any claim to the contrary is considered an unacceptable interference in Iran’s internal affairs and a violation of the universally recognized principle of non-interference, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter,” he noted.

The three Persian Gulf islands have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claim to the islands.

The islands fell under British control in 1921, but on November 30, 1971, a day after British forces left the region and just two days before the UAE was to become an official federation, Iran’s sovereignty over the islands was restored.