Abu Musa

The early disputes

The sovereignty of Abu Musa is disputed between Iran, which administers the island, and the UAE, which has claimed the island since the formation of the federation in 1971 as the successor to Sharjah's prior administration.^[15][16] By common consent, the island had been under the control of the Al-Qasimi ruler of Sharjah.^[17][18] The island was covered by a protection treaty signed between the rulers of the Gulf and Britain as far back as 1819.^[19]

The dispute over the ownership of the island predates the establishment of the UAE, and the first historical record of the dispute was in 1904, when the Iranians lowered a local flag of the Trucial States and replaced it with an Iranian one. This was swiftly opposed by the British Empire's authorities, and it led to the Iranian forces withdrawing shortly after occupying the islands. They attempted to occupy them again in 1923.^[20]

In 1906, Salim bin Sultan, the uncle of Sharjah's ruler Saqr bin Khalid, awarded a concession for iron oxide deposit discovery on the island to three Arabs, whose workers extracted the mineral and agreed to sell it to Wonckhaus, a German enterprise. However, Saqr bin Khalid discovered and disagreed with the act, so he cancelled the grant. The workers were then removed from the island with assistance from the British, resulting in an international incident.^[21][22]

After 1908, the UK controlled the island along with the other British-held islands in the Persian Gulf, including what is today the UAE. In the late 1960s, the UK transferred administration of the island to the British-appointed Sharjah, one of the seven sheikhdoms that would later form the UAE.

For 20 consecutive days in 1964, Iranian forces occupied the territory, claiming that the landing was a military maneuver, before leaving.^[20]

After the UK announced in 1968 that it would end its administrative and military positions in the Persian Gulf, Iran moved again to attach the island politically to the mainland. On 30 November 1971, two days before the official establishment of UAE, Iran and Sharjah signed a Memorandum of Understanding. They agreed to allow Sharjah to have a local police station and to Iran stationing troops on the island according to the map attached to the Memorandum of Understanding.^[18]

The agreement divided the island's energy resources between the two signatories. "By agreeing to the pact, the tiny emirate prevented an invasion by Iran, which two days earlier had taken two other disputed islands, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, which were even smaller and uninhabited."^[23]

Iranian takeover

On 30 November 1971, a day before the UK officially left the region, Iran moved troops onto the island who were officially welcomed by the Sheikh of Sharjah's brother, Sheikh Saqer.^[24]

UAE claim

The UAE took its sovereignty claim over Abu Musa and the two Tunb islands to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council of 9 December 1971. At that meeting, it was decided to "defer consideration of this matter to a later date".^[25][26] Iraq (Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr era),^[27] Syria,^[27] Kuwait,^[28] Algeria,^[29] South Yemen^[29] and Libya^[29] held the view that the territory rightfully belongs to the UAE.^{[30][31][32][33][34]} Since that time, the UAE has consistently called in public statements^[26][35] for either bilateral negotiations or by referring the issue to the International Court of Justice (or another form of international arbitration).^[36]

Saddam Hussein attempted to justify the Iran–Iraq War by claiming that one of the objectives was to "liberate" Abu Musa and the Tunbs in the Persian Gulf. In 1992, Iran expelled "foreign" workers who operated the UAE-sponsored school, medical clinic, and power-generating station.^[37]

The dispute has caused serious friction between Ras al-Khaimah and Sharjah on the one hand and some other emirates of the UAE on the other. Ras Al Khaimah advocates tough measures against Iran. Dubai believes that the conflict is unnecessary. The present ruler of Dubai, who is also Vice President, Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the UAE, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has earlier stated publicly that "he believes the tensions over the islands have been fabricated by the United States".^[38]

In 2012, a visit to the island by Iranian president Ahmedinejad provoked a diplomatic incident.^[39] Iran's historical claim to ownership over the islands traces back to the Parthian and Sasanian Empires, among others.^{[40] [41]} Iran considers the island to have been occupied by the UK and refers to the agreement between Iran and the emirate of Sharjah in 1971.^[18]