Iran expects Russia to ’rectify’ stance over three islands
Referring to a recent joint statement made by Russia and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC), a senior Iranian cleric urged Moscow to rectify its position regarding Iran’s three islands in the Persian Gulf.
Giving the Friday prayer sermon held in Tehran, Mohammad-Hassan Abu-Torabi Fard stressed on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran, both as the newest member state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Moscow’s strategic ally.
During the sixth joint ministerial meeting between the PGCC and the Russian Federation that was held in Moscow on Monday, the ministers raised the issue of reaching a peaceful solution to the matter of Iran’s three islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa.
The statement “affirmed… support for all peaceful efforts, including the initiative of the United Arab Emirates and its endeavors to reach a peaceful solution to the issue of the three islands… through bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice.”
Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Army, also said in response to the statement that Iran is very sensitive to claims made about its three islands in the Persian Gulf, to which the United Arab Emirates lays claims. At an event with military commanders, Major General Mousavi said, “We are sensitive about every iota of our soil, and we will not for a moment neglect the protection of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s borders and interests, from the northernmost to the southernmost points of its sacred land.”
A senior adviser to the Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution also said it was naïve of Russia to fall into the trap of the PGCC regarding the three islands, which are an integral part of Iran.
Ali Akbar Velayati further cited the historical records that confirm Iran’s sovereignty over the islands, saying the Russians fell into the same trap that the Chinese did several months ago.
Velayati claimed that the Russians think they will have profitable economic ties with the Emirates if they support such irrelevant claims.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that issuing such statements is against friendly relations between Iran and its neighbors. The Russian Ambassador to Tehran Alexey Dedov was then summoned to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday and informed about Iran’s protest over the content of the statement.