Dubai, Dec 24: Iran summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires after Moscow and Arab countries released a joint statement earlier this week challenging Iran’s claim to disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, state media reported on Sunday.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the Russian envoy was summoned on Saturday and handed a note to deliver to Moscow in which Tehran protested the statement the 6th Arab-Russian Cooperation Forum issued in Morocco that called for a peaceful solution to resolve the conflict between Iran and the United Arab Emirates over the islands.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told his Russian counterpart over the phone that “respecting countries’ sovereignty and integrity is among basic principles in the ties between nations”, IRNA said in a separate report.
This marked the second time this year that Iran has called for a Russian envoy in protest over comments on the disputed islands. Tehran summoned the Russian ambassador in July over a similar statement.
The diplomatic spat is a rare occurrence between the two countries that have deepened their ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine, with Iran supplying Russia with killer drones that have been used to devastating effect there. Both countries have also been strong backers of President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war. In 2022, Iran summoned China’s envoy over a similar joint statement with Arab nations.
Iran took control of the three islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb after British forces withdrew in 1971. It considers them an “inseparable” part of its territory. The UAE also claims the three islands and has long pressed for a negotiated solution.
Iran’s navy adds sophisticated cruise missiles to its armoury
Iran’s navy on Sunday added domestically produced sophisticated cruise missiles to its arsenal, state TV reported.
The TV said both Talaeieh and Nasir cruise missiles have arrived at a naval base near the Indian Ocean in the southern Iranian port of Konarak, some 1,400 kilometers (850 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Navy chief Adm. Shahram Irani said the Talaeieh has a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and called it “fully smart”. Irani said the cruise missile is capable of changing targets during travel.
He said the Nasi has a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and can be installed on warships. (AP)
Last month, a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack from a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, as Israel wages war on Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
(AP)
