DUBAI — Foreign ministers of the six Gulf countries are to hold a special meeting in Riyadh Wednesday after Iranian president’s “provocative” visit to the Abu Musa island in the Gulf claimed by the United Arab Emirates, an official said Friday.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in the Saudi capital comes at the request of the UAE, which recalled its envoy to Tehran on Thursday after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid a visit to Abu Musa island, the official said.
Abu Dhabi pulled out envoy Saif Mohammed Abid Al-Zaabi “for consultations” a day after denouncing Ahmadinejad’s trip as a “flagrant violation of UAE sovereignty over its territories.”
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said that during his Wednesday visit Ahmadinejad insisted historical documents proved the name “Persian Gulf” was derived from the “culture, civilization and the dominant opinion” of the area.
Iran gained control of the islands of Abu Musa, Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb in 1971, as Britain granted independence to its Gulf protectorates and withdrew its forces.
Abu Musa, the only inhabited island of the three, was placed under joint administration in a deal with Sharjah, now part of the UAE. Abu Dhabi says the Iranians have since taken control of the entire island and have installed an airport and military base there.
The UAE press on Friday slammed Ahmadinejad’s visit, with Al-Bayan daily calling it an attempt “to export domestic problems abroad,” while Al-Ittihad denounced “flagrant and inadmissible aggression against UAE sovereignty.”— AFP