Iran blasts EU-PGCC joint statement on Iranian islands

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baghaei has strongly slammed the repeated unfounded claims about three Iranian islands in the final statement of the EU-Persian Gulf Cooperation Council joint summit.

Baghaei stated such claims are clear indications of the member countries' disregard for the principles and objectives of the UN Charter, particularly the principle of respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The spokesperson emphasized, “The three islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb are an inseparable part of Iranian territory and will remain so.”

“Using misleading concepts or repeating false and deceptive claims about this significant part of Iran's territory changes nothing about the reality,” he added.

He reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the islands an integral part of its territory and exercises its national sovereignty over them, while respecting the principles of the UN Charter and good neighborliness.

Baghaei expressed regret that some regional countries focus on false territorial claims against a neighboring country instead of addressing the most urgent issue of the Islamic world, region, and the world, namely the continued genocide of the oppressed people of Palestine and the Zionist regime’s aggression in Lebanon.

He noted, “It was expected that the regional countries would use the opportunity of the joint summit with EU leaders, some of whom are major suppliers of weapons and political support to the apartheid regime of Israel, to hold them accountable and stop Israel's genocide and aggressions, urging the occupying regime's supporters to refrain from collaborating with it.”

Baghaei also highlighted the importance of the Islamic Republic of Iran's defense capabilities as essential for exercising its inherent right to self-defense and deterring threats and ambitions of rogue and warmongering parties, and safegaurding regional security and stability.

He stated, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always used its military capabilities responsibly only for legitimate defense, adhering to the principles and rules of international law and the UN Charter.”

The spokesperson reaffirmed the peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear activities, slamming the doubts cast on Iran's nuclear program as biased, baseless, and unacceptable.

Baghaei reminded European countries that they are also to blame for the failure to implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal due to their inaction and submission to U.S. exploitative demands during then president Donald Trump's administration.

Highlighting the critical regional conditions and the serious threats to peace and security due to the Israeli genocide and ongoing aggression on Gaza and Lebanon, Baghaei called on regional countries to prioritize putting an end to the killing of innocent people in Palestine and Lebanon and destroying their infrastructure and to cooperate for a coordinated action to stop the Zionist regime’s warmongering.

Baghaei attributed the change in the European countries’ tone regarding the trio Iranian islands to their policy of appeasement and submission to the Zionist regime.

He advised the European Union to avoid falling into old habits, such as the tendency for divisive interference in the West Asia region, and urged them to allow the countries of the region to resolve any misunderstandings or concerns directly and in a positive atmosphere through respectful dialogue.