Iran’s parliament blasted Wednesday the Arab Parliamentary Union (APU) for backing (UAE) in its “claim to the Iranian islands,” reported the Iranian News Agency (IRNA).
“Despite the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran has clarified its stand to hold direct talks with the UAE, the Gulf state has embarked on efforts to raise the matter within the regional and international parliamentary unions,” a statement by the parliament said, quoted by the agency.
The Arab Parliamentary Union in its meeting last week in Abu Dhabi urged Iran to hold direct talks with the UAE on the three
Iranian islands in the Arabian Gulf.
“Certainly, what the Abu Dhabi government is doing will not help solve the problem,” the statement said.
It added that the APU member states should have focused on the threat posed to the region by the Zionist regime instead of urging Iran to hold direct talks with the UAE.
“Under the current situation in the Middle East, the stance taken by the APU in its meeting in Abu Dhabi is seriously something skeptical.”
Both countries have said they will never retract their claims to the strategic Gulf isles of Abu Mussa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, which Iran has held since 1971 when Britain pulled out of the region – Albawaba.com
