Iran rejects UAE claims over three strategic islands near Hormuz

Iranian diplomat Kazem Gharibabadi rejected claims made by the United Arab Emirates at the United Nations General Assembly over three disputed strategic islands near the Strait of Hormuz, as Al Jazeera reports. In a post on the X platform, Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, dismissed the claim made by an Emirati official regarding Iranian sovereignty over the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb.

“Emirati officials, instead of repeating baseless claims, should adhere to the requirements of good neighborliness,” he wrote, responding to the issue raised by the Emirati side on the international stage of the UN.

The dispute over the three islands near the Strait of Hormuz dates back to 1971, when Iranian forces took control of them after the withdrawal of British forces from the Persian Gulf. Abu Dhabi has continuously contested Iranian control — arguing the islands were taken illegally — and has used international platforms, including the UN General Assembly, to demand their return.

The new Emirati claim comes at a moment when the Strait of Hormuz is at the center of the seven-month war between the United States and Iran, making the islands issue an additional point of regional tension.