Iran criticises PGCC statement on trio islands

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham condemned the recent allegations raised by the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) about Iran’s three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb. The Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman’s remarks came after the PGCC at the end of its 128th foreign ministerial meeting issued a statement repeating the baseless allegations about the ownership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the trio Persian Gulf islands. “The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its full sovereignty over the three Iranian islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf and points out that all the measures taken on these islands have always been based on Iran's soverignty and territorial integrity,” the Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman said. Afkham reiterated Iran's sovereignty over Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb, and deplored the interfering stance of the PGCC on the three Persian Gulf islands. She added that repetition of such claims will never change legal and historical facts, and the three islands are inseparable parts of Iran. Iranian officials have on many occasions rejected the claims raised by the UAE on the three Iranian islands, underlining that such statements are baseless and unfounded. International documents clearly show that the three islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa which were historically owned by Iran, temporarily fell to British control in 1903. The islands were returned to Iran based on an agreement in 1971 before the UAE was born. Iran has repeatedly declared that its ownership of the three islands is unquestionable. Under international law, no state can defy any agreement, which came into being before its establishment. Yet, the UAE continues to make territorial claims against the Islamic Republic despite historical evidence and international regulations.