DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires yesterday to protest against Iran’s establishment of maritime offices on a disputed island and said the move should be reversed, state news agency WAM reported. “The UAE regards these unlawful acts as a flagrant violation,” WAM said, citing an official source at the Foreign Ministry. “Such violations do not help promote bilateral relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic.”
WAM said the Iranian state television had announced that Tehran set up offices for ship registration and maritime rescue on the island of Abu Musa.
Abu Musa and the islands of the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, located near key shipping lanes in the Gulf, are controlled by non-Arab Iran but claimed by the UAE with broad Arab support.
The UAE source called on Tehran to annul any measures that violated a 1971 memorandum of understanding between the two countries over the island.
WAM said the source reiterated Abu Dhabi’s long-standing call for arbitration or taking the issue to an international court.
