Iran deplores Arab-Russian statement on Persian Gulf islands

Tehran has refuted the contents of a joint statement from several Arab countries and Moscow over the Iranian islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf, describing the trio as inseparable and eternal parts of Iran’s territory.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson slammed part of the statement of the 6th Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum held in Morocco, dismissing the claims on the three Iranian islands as baseless and unacceptable.

Nasser Kanaani stressed, “The Iranian islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb, located in the blue waters of the Persian Gulf, eternally belong to Iran and are an inseparable part of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s land.”

Kanaani added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran does not consider its territorial integrity and sovereignty over the three islands negotiable and rejects any claim by any side on the issue and will not back down from its sovereignty and territorial rights in any way.”

The spokesperson stressed the policy of promoting ties with the neighboring countries and the need to respect the principle of good neighborliness.

He said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran asks all its northern and southern neighbors to take the actual and potential capacities at the bilateral and regional levels into account and take steps to boost ties and refrain from making and repeating certain rejected claims.”

Kanaani stated, “The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate a bit to preserve its territorial integrity.”

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