Russian envoy to Tehran summoned to Iran Foreign Ministry over stance on Persian Gulf islands

During the meeting held at the Foreign Ministry, Alireza Enayati, assistant to the Iranian foreign minister and Director General of the Persian Gulf Department at the ministry, called in the Russian ambassador to hand over the Islamic Republic of Iran’s objections to the contents of a joint statement between Russia and the Council that was issued after the sixth ministerial meeting of strategic dialogue between the two sides.

Enayati told Dedov that the thee islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb belonged to Iran for eternity, and demanded that the Russian Federation rectify its stance on the matter.

The sixth joint ministerial meeting of the strategic dialogue between the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council and the Russian Federation was held on Monday, July 10, 2023, in Moscow.

The participants in the meeting said in a joint statement that they supported the United Arab Emirates’ efforts in pursuing sovereignty over the three Iranian islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf.

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.”

The Islamic republic has repeatedly stressed that the three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb are inseparable and eternal parts of the Iranian territory.