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Tehran, Iran
Dark clouds continue to loom over the long-running territorial dispute between Tehran and Abu Dhabi over the three Persian Gulf islands, despite a wave of diplomacy sweeping the region following rapprochement between Iran and some of its neighbors.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser al-Qanani issued a strongly worded statement Saturday condemning the joint communiqué issued at the summit on the second day of the Arab League summit in the Saudi city of Jeddah, referring to the “allegations” and false claims”.
While “welcoming the constructive approach of some countries,” Kanani slammed the 22-member pan-Arab group for making “repetitive claims,” ​​saying Iran’s actions were “consistent with exercising sovereignty over its territory and that any claim in this regard got rejected.”
Although he did not mention the three strategic islands of Greater Tunbu, Lesser Tunbu and Abu Musa in the Strait of Hormuz, the hint is clear enough.
The three islands have been administered by Iran since 1971, eight years before the Iranian revolution, but are claimed by the United Arab Emirates as part of its territory.
The territorial dispute has been a key sticking point in Iran-UAE relations for years, with the two neighbors repeatedly engaging in verbal duels in international forums.
While Iran insists the islands are an “integral part” of its territory, the UAE claims equal sovereignty over them, backed by other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members.
Persian Gulf affairs analyst Yaseen Taqizadeh said the dispute, which dates back more than five years, was unlikely to be resolved by the recent escalation of relations between Tehran and Abu Dhabi.
“The sovereignty dispute over the three islands is rooted in history, with competing claims from both sides,” he told Anadolu. “Regardless of recent developments, unless they agree to a meaningful dialogue, this will continue to be a bone of contention between them.”
– Claims and counterclaims
In February, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Beijing, the first visit by an Iranian head of state in 20 years, but after Chinese President Xi Jinping made a visit to Saudi Arabia last December with China and the GCC. Overshadowed by controversy over the joint statement.
The statement, which backed the UAE’s demand to “resolve the dispute over three islands in the Persian Gulf”, sparked an outcry in Iran and nearly created a diplomatic spat between Tehran and Beijing.
Tehran “will not allow any country not to respect its territorial integrity,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdurashian said on Twitter. The implicit warning in Chinese was aimed at Beijing.
Raisi’s key aide and deputy chief of staff, Mohammad Jamshidi, was particularly outspoken, issuing what he called a “reminder to our colleagues in Beijing”. His statement came after China’s ambassador to Iran was summoned to express Tehran’s “strong dissatisfaction”.
“Rahi’s trip to Beijing, while pre-planned to limit the damage done by the China-GCC statement, ended up doing more than many expected – providing Iran with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states. The groundwork was laid for the settlement,” Taqizadeh said.
Iran’s top security official at the time, Ali Shamkhani, traveled to Beijing in March to sign a deal with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister to restore diplomatic ties between the two regional rivals, weeks after the Iranian president’s visit to China . China played the role of peacemaker.
Interestingly, Shamkhani’s next stop was Abu Dhabi, where he held extensive talks with senior Emirati officials, including his counterpart Tahnoun bin Zayed. Both sides agreed to “eliminate misunderstandings” and “expand relations to the highest level”.
However, it is unclear whether the two sides discussed the dispute over the three islands in the Persian Gulf.
“Shamkhani’s discussions with UAE officials are likely to involve the dispute over the three islands,” said Milad Hatam, a researcher who focuses on the Middle East.
Shamkhani resigned on Monday as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for 10 years and was replaced by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander.
– Iran-UAE relations
The UAE and Iran resumed diplomatic ties in August last year, and the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement at the time “that it was for the mutual benefit of both countries and the wider region”.
Abu Dhabi recalled its ambassador from Tehran in solidarity with Riyadh after the Saudi Arabian embassy in the Iranian capital was attacked by angry mobs in January 2016 following the execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr Six years later, the parties reached a settlement.
The UAE repatriated its envoy to Tehran last August, and Iran appointed an ambassador to Abu Dhabi last month, with both sides expressing commitment to escalating relations.
After Iran appointed its ambassador to the Arab world in April, top diplomats from both countries spoke by phone, calling the bilateral relationship “forward-looking”.
“It is undeniable that relations between Iran and the UAE have improved since last year, with regular communication between the two sides at various levels, but resolving the dispute over the three islands is key,” Khatam said.
The status quo, he said, means they will continue to engage in a war of words in international forums, such as in September 2021, when they will spar at each other at the 76th UN General Assembly.
At the time, the UAE deputy foreign minister claimed the islands and called on Iran to end its “occupation”, to which Iran’s mission to the United Nations responded, saying the islands were an “integrable” part of Iranian territory.
“I think the two sides have a good chance of resolving the dispute through meaningful dialogue because the window of communication between them remains open,” Takizadeh said.
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