Despite pressure from Iran, the member nations of the Gulf Cooperative Council finished their summit in Oman with a strong declaration of support for the UAE’s rights to the three islands.
The three Gulf islands are the Big Tunb and the Little Tunb, which belong to Ras al Khaimah, and Abu Musa that belongs to Sharjah. The strategically and economically important islands were occupied by Iranian forces under the Shah three decades ago at the time the United Kingdom withdrew from the region, and remain garrisoned by Iranian troops to this day.
Although the UAE and other GCC countries have built up good relations with Iran over the years, the UAE has never abandoned its full legal claim to the islands. This stance has been supported by the UAE’s fellow GCC members, and has been a major hindrance to Iran’s relations with the countries of the Gulf. At the start of the 22nd GCC summit, Teheran called on the other GCC members to pressure the UAE to reach an accommodation, intimating good relations are at risk.
In an overwhelming show of support for the UAE, the final communiqué of the GCC summit not only repeated the member nations’ full support to the UAE’s position, it also took an active stance by instructed the GCC ministerial council to look into all possible peaceful means through which the UAE can recover its legitimate rights to its three islands. (www.albawaba.com)
