Iranian media reports say the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian charge d’affaires on December 23 in the absence of the country’s ambassador. It handed over to the Russian diplomat a note of protest over the statement the 6th Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum issued in Morocco on December 21 on three Iranian islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb.
IRNA says that statement voiced support for peaceful solutions to resolve what the participants called a conflict between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the islands.
The Russian diplomat was told that respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries is one of the fundamental principles of relations between nations.
The Foreign Ministry stressed that the three Persian Gulf islands permanently belong to Iran, and the Iranian government rejects any claim by any side in this regard.
The Russian charge d’affaires promised to convey Iran’s protest to authorities in Moscow.
In a phone call with his Russian counterpart on December 22, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian reportedly also said that the Islamic Republic will not compromise with any side on its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
IRNA notes that back in July, Russia also drew Iran’s anger by supporting a joint statement with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council over the three islands. At that time, Iran summoned the Russian ambassador to protest Moscow’s move.
Fars News Agency (FNA) reports that international documents clearly show that the three islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, which were historically owned by Iran, temporarily fell to British control in 1903. The islands were returned to Tehran based on an agreement in 1971 before the UAE was founded. Under international law, no state can defy any agreement, which came into being before its establishment.
