Iran expresses strong protest to Russia over disputed islands in Persian Gulf

The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned a representative of Russia after Moscow supported the statement on disputed islands. Iran expressed a strong protest to Russia during the diplomatic act.

It goes about three islands in the Persian Gulf: Abu Musa, Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb. Tehran noted that the final statement of the participants in the VI session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum mentioned the issue of affiliation of those disputed territories.

The Iranian side stated the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. It was also reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian contacted his Russian counterpart by telephone and personally translated Tehran's position to him on the matter.

The UK delivered the islands of Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb to Tehran in 1971, shortly before the United Arab Emirates appeared as an independent state. The UAE and Iran have been in dispute over the ownership of the islands since then.

The Arabs first tried to avoid confrontation with the Iranians and signed an agreement on joint governance of the islands. Iran soon hoisted its flag on Abu Musa and declared that all of the islands were an integral part of the territory of Iran. Clashes between the military did occur, there were losses on both sides.

The countries can not resolve differences due to the strategic value of the islands. There are many oil tanker routes near them, and they also make it possible to control the exit from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

In September 2021, at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, representatives of both states reiterated their claims to the islands and accused each other of being unwilling to find common ground on this issue.