The United Arab Emirates has demanded that its dispute with Iran over three Gulf islands will remain on the agenda of the UN Security Council.
The request to "keep the item relating to the thee Emirati islands occupied by Iran" on the council's agenda was made in an "ordinary" letter from UAE ambassador in New York, Abdul Aziz bin Nasser al-Shamsi, to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the official WAM news agency said Tuesday.
The UAE demanded that the issue, "which has been on the council's agenda since December 1971," remain there until a just and lasting settlement is reached.
The UAE has been accusing Iran of continued "occupation" of the three islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs. Tehran has rejected these claims. Iran has also an important military base on Abu Musa.
