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Tehran rejects Arab states' claims to Iranian islands, Arash field

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 02 September 2025 10:23 AM

Iran has reiterated its sovereignty over the Persian Gulf trio islands, rights to the Arash field, and the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, in reaction to the false claims in a recent Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) statement.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs roundly rejected "the hackneyed and legally baseless claim of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council regarding the Iranian trio islands."

During a joint meeting in Kuwait on Monday, the foreign ministers of the GCC issued a statement claiming that the islands of the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa belong to the United Arab Emirates.

The Iranian foreign ministry described the islands as "inseparable parts of Iran's territorial territory," adding that the repetition of "baseless claims in similar statements will not cause any change in the geographical, historical, and legal realities related to these islands."

Iran, the statement added, "will take any necessary action required to ensure safety and security in these Iranian islands and to secure the country's interests with respect to the islands."

The Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found and corroborated by countless historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other parts of the world. However, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claim to the islands.

The islands fell under British control in 1921 but on November 30, 1971, a day after British forces left the region and just two days before the UAE was to become an official federation, Iran's sovereignty over the islands was restored.

The Ministry also emphasized Iran's rights to the Arash field based on historical rights and negotiation records, dismissing all "one-sided claims" regarding the field as invalid.

The GCC foreign ministers reiterated on Monday their previous claims regarding the ownership of the Arash gas field (jointly owned by Iran and Kuwait) and dismissed Iran's rights to the gas field.

According to the Iranian ministry, issuing repetitive statements and making unilateral claims "fail to grant any rights to the Kuwaiti government from a legal perspective."

"Reaching a fair and lasting agreement regarding the Arash field requires bilateral dialogue, joint efforts, and the creation of a positive and constructive atmosphere to protect and secure mutual rights and interests," the statement added.

The dispute over the Arash gas field, which Kuwaitis call al-Durra, dates back to the 1960s when Iran and Kuwait were awarded overlapping offshore concessions for the field following its discovery.

The dispute has seen several cycles of claims and counter-claims by the parties involved, becoming a key sticking point in relations between the Persian Gulf neighbors.

The field is estimated to hold 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, which could produce one billion cubic feet per day. Nearly 40% of the Arash gas field is located in Iranian waters.

The Iranian foreign ministry also underscored Iran's "legitimate and legal rights" to benefit from nuclear energy as per the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and deemed any attempt "to cast doubt on the peaceful nature of its nuclear program unjustified."

The US and the European parties, the ministry said, have been disrupting the negotiation processes by persistently reneging on their promises and grossly violating the principles and rules of the United Nations Charter and international law.

In their statement, the GCC foreign ministers claimed that Iran's nuclear negotiations should include all alleged security issues and concerns of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states.

The Iranian foreign ministry, in response, drew the attention of the countries of the region to "the real and immediate danger" posed by Israel's "weapons of mass destruction."

The statement called for regional countries to collectively pressure the international community to act on the Israeli regime's WMDs as a step toward a nuclear weapon-free zone.