Iranian MPs Call for Firm Response to UAE Hostile Policy Toward Tehran - Reports

Mohsen Koohkan, an Iranian lawmaker, told the Tasnim that a group of lawmakers had called on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to review the level of the political and economic relations with the UAE amid country's hostile stance toward Iran.

The lawmaker noted that if Abu Dhabi continues to behave the way it behaves now, the Iranian parliament would take any measure at its disposal to respond.

This reaction followed the US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which required Tehran to maintain a peaceful nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The move was not backed by other parties to the JCPOA. However, several US allies, including the UAE expressed their support for Washington's policy.

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As for the dispute over three islands, it dates back to 1971, when UK forces withdrew from the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb in Persian Gulf's Strait of Hormuz.

The islands were immediately seized by Iranian Navy, but the United Arab Emirates, which was established in the same year, claimed that the islands were under control of Qasimi sheiks throughout the 19th century and the UAE inherited the rights to the islands since the emirates governed by the Qasimi sheiks became part of the UAE.

The case was even brought to the UN Security Council in 1980 but was rejected and closed. Since then, it has always been a source of tensions between the Arab countries and Tehran.