Iran’s patience limited over UAE’s baseless island claims

Ali Akbar Velayati, Senior Adviser to the Leader on International Affairs, addressed the rulers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), posing the question: “Are the repeated baseless claims regarding Iran’s islands part of your cooperation with colonial powers?” He emphasized that “the patience of the Iranian people is not unlimited.”

Velayati today on Friday posted a statement on X social media platform, stating that it was necessary to clearly declare a point that had so far been avoided publicly. He wrote, “We must ask the UAE government, what were you doing in Yemen? Are you also interested in the ownership of the Bab al-Mandab Strait? Why did you occupy Socotra Island and what was its connection to US maritime ambitions? Do you also claim ownership of this island and the Strait of Hormuz?”

He further stated, “The blood of tens of thousands of Muslims in Yemen and now in Sudan has been shed due to your expansionist policies. We must now ask: What does the UAE want in Sudan and why are you acting in a way that contributes to the division of this country?”

Velayati continued, questioning whether the UAE is cooperating with the United Kingdom in Sudan and why many analysts perceive its actions as indicative of an attempt to establish a “delusional transnational empire.”

He emphasized,“Are the repeated baseless claims regarding Iran’s islands also part of these collaborations with colonial powers? How can anyone claim ownership over Abu Musa Island, which belonged to Iran thousands of years before the establishment of the UAE? The patience of the Iranian people is not unlimited.”/mehr