Abu Dhabi: Analysts yesterday warned Iran not to test UAE's resolve over the issue of the three occupied islands, as an Iranian company started tourism cruises to the UAE islands, Abu Mousa, Greater and Lesser Tunbs, occupied by Iran since 1971.

"I tell Iran … the UAE is not just a paper tiger, it is rather a powerful country with economic and even military might," Dr Ebtisam Al Katbi, professor of political science at the UAE University, said.

Al Katbi said the UAE's respect of good neighbourly relations with Iran and other countries is what derives the nation, but not being "weak" or "insignificant".

"On the contrary, the UAE can hit back with might … and don't forget Dubai is the lungs of Iran,' Al Katbi said.

The reaction came in the wake of Iranian provocations, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the UAE's island of Abu Mousa last week. In another move, considered as an escalation by many, an Iranian company said it was planing to introduce UAE's three occupied islands to tourists visiting the Kish island south of Iran, according to the Iranian state news agency, Irna.

Fair play

Sami Al Reyami, editor of Arabic daily, Emarat Al Youm, said the UAE has always played a fair game and never violated international laws and conventions nor did it interfere in other countries' affairs.

"Certainly, Iran's military arsenal will never address its domestic problems or those in the international arena,' Al Reyami said.

Meanwhile, the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union yesterday called on Iran to respect the UAE's rights and sovereignty over the three occupied Islands and to refrain from ‘troublesome' policies with GCC countries.

Ali Salem Al Diqbasi, speaker of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, said that Arab parliamentarians participating in the Union's meeting in the Arab League headquarters and all Arab nations are standing by the UAE in defending its historical rights and complete sovereignty over the three islands.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najeeb Miqati also condemned Ahmadinejad for his controversial statements during his recent visit to the disputed island of Abu Mousa.

During a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi, Miqati said that Ahmadinejad's statements "inflame the ongoing conflict in the region, at a time when we require awareness in order to strengthen the calm and security that reflect positively on all the countries of the region and contribute to their development," according to a press release by Miqati's office.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled on Thursday its Ambassador to Iran Saif Mohammed Obaid Al Za'abi for consultations in response to Ahmadinejad's statements.