Iran condemns Canada-UAE statement backing Emirati claim to Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs

Iran has sharply condemned a joint statement by Canada and the United Arab Emirates that called for an end to what the two countries described as Iran’s “occupation” of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the statement on Saturday, calling the UAE’s territorial claim “absurd” and Canada’s decision to endorse it short-sighted and contrary to the principles of the UN Charter.

“The UAE was established in 1971. Yet, despite the overwhelming historical record, geographical facts and documented evidence concerning Abu Musa and the Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb, it lays claim to these Iranian islands whose history of being part of Iran stretches back many millennia before the establishment of the federation itself,” Baghaei wrote on X.

“Remarkably, Canada’s prime minister has chosen to echo this absurd claim,” he added.

The dispute resurfaced after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a joint statement in Ottawa on Oct. 28.

In that statement, Canada and the UAE called for “an end to the occupation of the three islands of the UAE” and said Iran’s control of the islands violated Emirati sovereignty and the principles of the UN Charter.

Iran rejects that position and says Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb are inseparable parts of its territory. The UAE, meanwhile, maintains sovereignty claims over all three islands.

Baghaei also invoked Canada’s own territorial history and recent tensions with Washington, asking whether Ottawa regards respect for sovereignty as a universal principle or only when Canada itself is affected.

The three strategically located islands sit near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.