Iran-GCC clash over islands, nuclear talks underscores Tehran’s growing isolation
The Gulf Cooperation Council's renewed territorial claims on three Iran-controlled Persian Gulf islands come as Tehran is struggling under mounting international pressure and scrambling to rise from the ashes of its recent war with Israel.
TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday rebuked the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) following its latest statement asserting that the Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb are an indivisible part of UAE territory.
Tehran, which governs and claims ownership of the three tiny islands, dismissed the GCC's argument as "legally baseless," emphasizing that the islands remain an indisputable part of Iranian territory.
"Unfounded claims, repeated in similar statements, would not change the geographical, historical, and legal realities," the ministry said on its official website. It condemned the GCC for "interventionist" postures, affirming Iran's readiness to take all necessary steps to protect its sovereignty.
The GCC's statement described the status of Iran's control as "continued occupation" and underlined support for Emirati sovereign rights over the territorial waters, airspace, continental shelf and economic zone of the three islands.
