Commander warns against territorial claims on Iran's Trio islands

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stressed Iran's sovereignty over the three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb, and cautioned the regional states to avoid claims on Iranian territories. "The trio islands are indispensible parts of the Islamic Republic of Iran's territory and no one has the right to raise a claim on these islands," Sayyari told reporters at a press conference in Iran's Southern port city of Bushehr on Monday evening. Iranian officials have on many occasions rejected the claims raised by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the three Iranian islands, underlining that such statements are baseless and unfounded. International documents clearly show that the three islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa which were historically owned by Iran, temporarily fell to British control in 1903. The islands were returned to Iran based on an agreement in 1971 before the UAE was born. Iran has repeatedly declared that its ownership of the three islands is unquestionable. Under international law, no state can defy any agreement, which came into being before its establishment. Yet, the UAE continues to make territorial claims against the Islamic Republic despite historical evidence and international regulations.