Iran Condemns GCC Statement on Three Islands Sovereignty

Iran today condemned the GCC statement of support for UAE’s claim over the three islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs. GCC leaders in their summit meeting in Doha on Tuesday unanimously approved a communique which contained language reiterating their pro-UAE position on the islands.

Iran claims sole sovereignty over the three islands and has controlled them since the British departed the Persian Gulf in 1971.

“The repetition of the meddling stances on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s sovereignty over the three islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb cannot influence the existing legal and historical realities and these islands are inseparable parts of Iranian territory,” said Marziyeh Afghan, the spokeswoman for Iranian foreign ministry (Fars News Agency, 10 December)

Map credit: Wikipedia
  

GCC Summit Convenes in Doha

The GCC Summit was convened today in Qatari capital of Doha. In a communique, the leaders of GCC called for political solution in Syria and Yemen. They condemned the militias currently operating in Libya, and voiced support for the Libyan elected national council as the legitimate body to govern the country. On Iran, the leaders supported a negotiated end to the nuclear impasse and reiterated their support of the UAE in its claim over the three islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs.

Photo credit: The GCC leaders convening in Doha, Qatar; 9 December 2014 (AFP)
  

U.S to GCC alliance states: Unite against common threats like Iran

Chuck Hagel / Saul Loeb, AFP

The United States today has said to Saudi Arabia that it should unite with its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council alliance members in order to confront the common threat many of them see Iran as constituting.

This comes after quite a serious diplomatic dispute between Qatar and its fellow GCC member states Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates concerning its own independent foreign policy – which include its support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

That dispute saw these countries withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar last March and threatening to do their utmost to isolate it.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said to a meeting of GCC defines ministers that, "The most pressing security challenges threaten this region as a whole - and they demand a collective response."

He went on to contend that, "This approach is how the region must continue to address the threats posed by Iran."

Alluding to the nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran Hagel also declared that,

"While our strong preference is for a diplomatic solution, the United States will remain postured and prepared to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon – and that Iran abides by the terms of any potential agreement."

On Iran's agenda also is a visit between Iran and Saudi Arabia's foreign ministers. (Reuters, May 14)


Furthermore, it was reported last December that Mr. Hagel announced that his country was going to try and sell weapons to the GCC alliance as a single bloc as a opposed to each state individually.

On that occasion he expressed his wishes to expand U.S.-GCC cooperation and coordination between the military's of the two powers. He said such a set up would "enable the GCC to acquire critical military capabilities, including items for ballistic missile defines, maritime security, and counter-terrorism."

GCC Forms Unified Military Command

U.S. Lifts Veil on Major Military Center in Qatar

Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Wednesday announced the formation of a unified military command for the six-member countries. The decision was announced by the GCC secretariat at the end of the 34th Summit in Kuwait. (Defense News, 12 December)

“The declaration highlights the increasing construction of a regional security architecture which was started with the peninsula shield force and is an issue that is seen by outside observers to need more attention,” said Matthew Hedges, an analyst for the Institute of Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), a Dubai-based security think tank. (Defense News, 13 December)

The GCC also announced the establishment of the Gulf Academy for Strategic and Security Studies in the UAE.

The GCC statement also condemned Iran's continuation of the occupation of the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa islands.

“The GCC continues to support of the right of sovereignty of the UAE over the three islands and considers any actions or practices carried out by Iran on the islands null and void, as they do not change the historical facts and the legal rights and sovereignty of the UAE over the islands,” said GCC Secretary General Abdel Latif Al Zayani.

Iran controls the three islands at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz. The Shah’s government occupied the islands as part of a deal with Britain hours before the departure of British forces from the Gulf in 1971. Iran dropped its historic claim over Bahrain as part of that deal. UAE, which was formed after the British departure, does not recognize the agreement and considers the island as part of its territory.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during a visit to Qatar on Wednesday, lifted veil of secrecy on the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, until now a classified U.S. facility at an air base near Doha.

The air operations hub at the center, known as CAOC, is what Hagel described as “one of the most impressive facilities we have.” (The New York Times, 12 December)

In Qatar, Mr. Hagel and his counterpart signed a new Defense Cooperation Agreement that includes joint training and exercises and other unspecified cooperative military actions.

Photo credit: GCC Summit in Kuwait. 11 December 2013 (Al Arabiya)

Iran FM in UAE

Reaching Out to Gulf States

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif today arrived in the United Arab Emirates as part of a charm offensive to improve the strained relations with the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Zarif has already visited Kuwait, Qatar and Oman during his current Gulf tour.

“Iran is taking advantage of the interim (Geneva) agreement to make inroads into the GCC to resolve outstanding issues,” said Theodore Karasik, a security and political affairs analyst at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis – INEGMA. (AP, 4 December)

In UAE today, Zarif held talks with Emirati President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan in his palace in desert oasis city of Al Ain and met with the Ruler of Dubai and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum in the bustlng commercial hub of Dubai.

During the meetings, the Emirati leaders welcomed the signing of the interim Geneva Iran accord. The two sides were also expected to have reviewed the issue of the three islands, especially Abu Musa, which is under the Iranian control but claimed by both countries.

Photo credit: UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi. December 4, 2013. (WAM/Associated Press)