GCC slams Iran for disputed island action

“It is not permissible for states to occupy the territories of others as is known in the case of the dispute between the Arabs and the Israelis,” the pan-Arab Asharq Al Awsat newspaper quoted Abdulrahman Al Attiyah, Secretary-General of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as saying.

Abu Musa and the Lesser and Greater Tunbs, located near key shipping lanes in the Gulf, are controlled by non-Arab Iran but claimed by the United Arab Emirates with broad Arab support.

The UAE summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires last week to protest against Iran’s establishment of maritime offices on one of the islands and said the move should be reversed.