INSS Insight No. 179, Institute for National Security Studies
In an unusual statement, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates recently compared the Iranian occupation of the three Gulf islands it claims - Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb - to "the Israeli occupation of Arab land." Both the highly irregular statement and the sensitive analogy dramatize the concern in the Gulf that Iran, under the aegis of its nuclear program, seeks to dominate not only the region's agenda but also Arab territory.
The foreign minister's statement prompted an immediate Iranian response in the form of an explicit warning to the UAE to refrain from similar statements in the future. In an attempt to send a message of deterrence and at the same time underscore a principle common to the two states, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry stressed that it was inappropriate to serve "Zionist interests."
The UAE minister, however, was unmoved, and a few days later repeated the demand that Iran end the occupation of the Arab islands. In a meeting with Abu Mazen in Ramallah he charged that Iran's conduct "represents an obstacle to improving its relations with the Arab world."[1]
The minister's statements should be seen in light of reports that Iran has tightened the siege of UAE residents on Abu Musa (the only inhabited island of the three) and is denying them supplies, access to medical attention, and communication with the mainland. The minister complained that Iran was preventing UAE residents from contacting their family members on the island: "Hundreds of families are under an occupation...which is indecent and illegitimate."[2] Perhaps of greatest concern to the minister were reports of development work undertaken by Iran on 27 oil drilling installations located near the three islands. He also accused the Arab media of not paying sufficient attention to the issue and stressed the Arab world's seeming helplessness in resolving the problem.
The three islands claimed by Iran and the UAE are of particular strategic importance, because of their location near the Straits of Hormuz, international shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf, and important oil fields in the region. Control of the islands, for example, would allow Iran in a crisis to obstruct free shipping in the Gulf with greater ease and block the Straits of Hormuz.
Before the Federation's independence, Abu Musa was under the control of the Sharjah Emirate while the Tunb Islands belonged to the Ras al-Khaimah Emirate. On November 30, 1971, one day before the withdrawal of British troops from the Gulf, Iran took control of the islands by force and demonstrated the Gulf states' vulnerability to threats from their neighbors and how much they need external support - formerly from Great Britain, then from the United States - to guarantee their national security. The parties later arrived at an agreement about joint administration of Abu Musa, which Iran has systematically violated.
Over the years, Iran continued to take unilateral steps in the Gulf. In April 1992 it opposed the entrance of foreigners to Abu Musa and forced UAE citizens who wanted to visit the island to obtain Iranian visas. Iran subsequently built a landing strip on the island and enlarged its military force stationed there. There were even reports that Iran
[1] Arab News and a-Sharq al-Awsat, April 26, 2010.
[2] Khaleej Times, April 21, 2010.
[3] Arab News, April 28, 2010.
[4] Press TV, April 26, 2010.
[5] MEMRI, May 3, 2010.
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