UAE takes island dispute with Iran to UN

Dubai, Aug 30 (UNI) The UAE has lodged a protest with the United Nations over Iran setting up two offices on Abu Musa island, and urged Tehran to immediately revoke any and all actions that violate the 1971 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

In a letter delivered by Charge d'Affaires of the UAE mission Anwar Othman Al Barout, to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the UAE pointed out that the Iranian state television announced that Tehran had set up two offices for ship registration and maritime rescue on the UAE island, which has been under Iranian occupation since 1971, the official WAM news agency said.

The letter, which was sent on Thursday to the UN Security Council in New York, reiterated the UAE's protest over the Iranian action, which was a stark violation of the MoU signed in 1971 on legal, administrative and sovereignty issues related to the island.

Reiterating the UAE's position on the issue, the letter said the state of affairs on Abu Musa island is governed by the still-valid 1971 MoU.

''Iran's illegitimate action on the Abu Musa island violates the provisions of the MoU and is a bid by Iran to change the legal status of the island,'' the letter said.

''The MoU did not give Iran sovereignty over the island or even parts of it, nor did it give Iran the right to initiate any security measures on it. Iran has been violating the provisions of the memorandum since 1980,'' it stressed.

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