At an event with other military commanders, Major General Mousavi said, “We are sensitive about every iota of our soil, and we will not neglect for a moment protecting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s borders and interests, from the northernmost to the southernmost spot of the sacred land of Iran.”
“We are very sensitive to… whatever is said every now and then about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lands,” the Iranian commander said.
The remarks came amid uproar inside Iran about a move by Russia to take sides with Arab countries over the three islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf.
Russia signed a joint communique with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the end of a ministerial meeting in Moscow on Monday that supported the United Arab Emirates’ efforts in pursuing sovereignty over the three Iranian islands.
The statement “affirmed… support for all peaceful efforts, including the initiative of the United Arab Emirates and its endeavours to reach a peaceful solution to the issue of the three islands… through bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said later that the three islands belonged to Iran “for eternity” and that the stance was not consistent with Iran’s friendly relations with its neighbors.
