July 13, 2023
The foolish and adventurous foreign policy of the Islamic Republic has made our country's position in the region and the world unstable and turbulent and has turned the national interests of the country and the people of Iran into the subject of negotiations between other governments. In the international arena, the Islamic Republic of Iran has isolated Iran and created conditions that allow different powers to use Iran's card in international equations. The recent statement of Russia with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and the re-introduction of the issue of these countries' disputes with Iran over the three islands of Abu Musa, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs which was made last year in a similar statement by the Chinese government with these countries, is a clear sign of the situation that our country is in. The purpose of these types of statements, in the midst of conflicts in the region, by the governments that are considered "strategic allies" of the Islamic Republic, is not in the service of solving the problem, but is a means to trade on the interests of these governments in other fields and at the cost of questioning the right of sovereignty of Iran over its own land. During the past decades, the Western countries have also taken a stand on this issue many times and have emphasized the direct negotiation solution to the disputes between Iran and the sheikhdoms. But what is clear is repeating this issue in various statements, ignoring Iran's indisputable rights to maintain its territorial integrity and trying to strengthen the UAE's unrealistic claim about the islands belonging to Iran after they were freed from British occupation in the early 1970s.
The deployment of Iranian forces in the three islands in November 1971, after the withdrawal of the British government from the Persian Gulf and ending the occupation of these three islands, was actually the restoration of Iran's sovereignty over these islands. None of the governments of Iran had recognized the occupation of these islands by the British government, it was natural for the government of that time to exercise sovereignty over these islands after the occupation was lifted. At the same time, the settlement in the Greater and Lesser Tunbs was made through negotiations between Britain and Iran, although without exchanging a written document. But in the case of Abu Musa, it was done by signing a memorandum of understanding between Iran and Sharjah. In this memorandum prepared by the British government, it is mentioned to resolve the differences between Iran and Sharjah through negotiation. Despite the fact that there are some legal ambiguities in the memorandum, which does not refer to Iran's long sovereignty over these islands before their occupation by Britain, it does not negate Iran's sovereignty either. This memorandum has confirmed the deployment of Iranian forces on this island. It should be noted that when Iran started negotiations to restore its sovereignty over these islands and finally settled in them, there was no government called the United Arab Emirates, which could later claim ownership of the three islands under British occupation.
The Left Party of Iran considers Abu Musa, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands to be parts of Iran's territory and considers it non-negotiable. At the same time, it welcomes bilateral and independent negotiations on the dispute in this matter. We believe that turning the dispute over the three islands into the subject of joint statements with other governments will not help to solve the problem. Such a policy will undoubtedly have a negative impact on mutual relations with other governments that seek to exploit the dispute over these islands. We believe that any attempt to play Iran's card against the national interests of the Iranian people is unacceptable and doomed to failure. We emphasize that the interests of our country will be secured in adhering to diplomatic relations and maintaining friendly relations with neighbors and resolving disputes according to mutual interests.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran
July 13, 2023
افزودن دیدگاه جدید