Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed that his country’s differences with the neighboring United Arab Emirates over the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf can be resolved through talks, and condemned interference in the issue by some other states.
Speaking to reporters following his address to the 63rd UN General Assembly meeting in New York, Ahmadinejad said, “Our relations with the states of the Persian Gulf are completely friendly ones. We have historical relations with them and provocation by others, meaning exterior forces, will not be able to disrupt these friendly ties.”
“The volume of trade between Iran and the UAE is extremely high and our ties are not only friendly, but expanding rapidly. There is a lot that is said outside the region, sometimes there is news out there, that has really nothing to do with the true nature of the relationship between the two peoples.
“The people of the Persian Gulf and the governments of the Persian Gulf region are able to resolve their problems internally together. So, as far as we are concerned, there are no problems,” the Iranian president said, alluding to the ongoing debates between Iran and the UAE over the three Iranian islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Mussa in the Persian Gulf.
International documents clearly show that the three islands, 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 agreements, which came into being before its establishment.
Although the UAE continues to make territorial claims against the Islamic Republic despite historical evidence and international regulations, Tehran has remained open to negotiations over the issue.
