GCC backs UAE's claim to Abu Mousa Island

Jeddah: The ministerial council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) urged Iran at a meeting late on Tuesday to remove the offices it has installed on a disputed island in the strategic Gulf waterway.

The council urged Iran to withdraw those illegal structures and to respect the UAE's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This was included in a final statement of the council's 108th meeting which ended here late Tuesday. The meeting was presided over by Qatar, which currently chairs the six-member GCC Supreme Council.

Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, headed UAE's delegation to the meeting, during which the council re-affirmed its support for UAE's sovereignty over its three islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Mousa, their territorial waters, air spaces, continental shelf and their economic zones, all of which the council regarded as integral part of the UAE.

The council expressed regret that all contacts with Iran had failed to achieve a peaceful solution of the issue.

The council urged the Islamic Republic of Iran to listen to the UAE's sincere calls and efforts to resolve the issue through direct negotiations or international arbitration at the International Court of Justice.