Tehran, IRNA – Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations has responded to the unfounded claims made by a UAE official regarding the Iranian trio islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb, saying such statements are a “flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter.”

It is regrettable that representatives of this country repeat this unfounded claim about these Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf in this meeting every year, the Iranian delegation at the UN General Assembly said in a statement on Sunday.

We consider such statements and baseless claims as a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter, as well as a violation of the principle of good neighborliness and the necessity of respecting the territorial integrity of countries, the statement read.

Iran's mission to the UN also emphasized that the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf have always been an integral part of Iranian territory, and will remain so.

Any claim contrary to this fact is invalid, it asserted.

Iran has always been committed to a policy of friendly neighborliness with all its neighbors, including the United Arab Emirates, the statement said.

However, it added that Iran’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over these islands will not be subject to any negotiations.

4353**9417