 |
| Image Source: Al-Jazeera |
The second time Russian envoy to Tehran is being summoned over the island issue.
It was reported
by Al-Jazeera and other Iranian news agencies that Iran has once again summoned
the Russian envoy to Tehran after Moscow signed another joint statement with
Arab nations calling for negotiations over three disputed islands that the
United Arab Emirates claims as its own.
The envoy was summoned in respect of “Strong Protest”
The Russian
envoy was summoned to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to receive
Tehran’s “strong protest” over the statement, the state-run IRNA news website
said late on Saturday.
At the Iranian
Foreign Ministry, the Russian envoy was reportedly told that respect for the
territorial integrity of nations is a fundamental tenet in relations between
any two countries. International Law and other similar conventions endorse the
point raised by Tehran.
IRNA also said
the official was told the three disputed islands “forever belong to Iran” which
renders any outside claims unacceptable.
The Island and the Famous Strait of Hormuz
The islands in
the strategic Strait of Hormuz, namely the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu
Musa, have been governed by Iran since 1971 when its navy took control of them
after British troops withdrew from what is today the UAE.
The UAE claims
them as part of its territory as well and has recently received increasing
support on them from Russia and China, which Tehran also counts among its
allies.
Previous Protest against China and China
Iran had
summoned the Chinese envoy to Tehran over a similar joint statement with Arab
nations of the region in December 2022 and had also summoned the Russian
ambassador in July over an almost identical joint statement.
Russia’s joint
statement this week, signed during the sixth edition of the Russian-Arab
Cooperation Forum in Morocco, supported “peaceful solutions and initiatives
aiming to resolve the conflict through bilateral negotiations or the
International Court of Justice, according to international law and the UN
Charter”.
The Foreign
Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, had condemned it earlier this week, and
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian raised the issue with his Russian
counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who had led the delegation to Morocco.
The Iranian
Foreign Ministry said Lavrov told Amirabdollahian that Russia has always
respected Iran’s territorial integrity and “this official policy by Moscow must
never be doubted”.
Comments of Iranian Lawmakers
The joint
statement also irked some Iranian lawmakers, who took to social media to try to
make it clear that the issue is non-negotiable.
Mohammad Bagher
Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter,
that increasingly warming ties with Russia are based on mutual respect and any
claims that threaten Iran’s territorial integrity will be met with a “serious
response”.
“Russia must be
careful about the West taking advantage of its mistakes,” he wrote.
Ghalibaf also
pointed out that Iran has not remained idle on the islands, and has been undertaking
a variety of efforts to populate and develop them. He promised that the
parliament would legally back efforts to develop the islands.
Other lawmakers
had harsher words for both Moscow and Abu Dhabi.
“It looks like
the language of kindness must change, at least with the UAE,” Hadi Beiginejad
wrote on X.
Another MP,
Ebrahim Rezaei, said “if they suggest negotiations, then we also invite the
Russians to negotiate with Japan over the Kuril Islands”, in reference to a
dispute over four islands between Russia and Japan.
0 Comments