GCC, FNC condemn Iran leader

The Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) as well as the UAE Federal National Council (FNC) on Thursday strongly condemned the visit made by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to UAE’s island of Abu Mousa, occupied by Iran. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, summoned UAE Ambassador to Iran Saif Mohammed Obaid Al Zaabi for consultations. GCC Secretary General Dr Abdul Latif Al Zayani slammed Ahmadinejad’s visit as “provocative” and a “flagrant violation” of UAE sovereignty. The visit, he stressed, would not change the historic and legal facts and UAE sovereignty over its three occupied islands: Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Mousa. “The visit demonstrates an irresponsible provocation and a step that doesn’t cope with the good neighbourliness policy adopted by GCC member states towards Iran nor with the GCC persistent peaceful efforts for solving the issues either through direct negotiations or taking the case to the International Court of Justice,” he affirmed. In Abu Dhabi, the FNC strongly denounced the visit of Ahmedinejad. The FNC said in a statement that the “visit is a flagrant violation to the UAE sovereignty over its territories, and a setback to all efforts made by the UAE to put and to the occupation of the UAE three Islands of the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Mousa through direct negotiations or resorting to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).” It underscored that the visit is contrary to the agreement between the two countries to avoid the escalation over the issue, so that a conducive atmosphere is created for reaching settlement that consolidates security, stability and good neighbourliness. The FNC slammed the provocative rhetoric of the Iranian president during his infamous visit to the UAE territory, and called on Iran to cease such provocative steps and adopt peaceful approaches that could build confidence and help reach just settlement to the issue of the occupied three UAE Islands since 1971.