TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari has slammed the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council’s statement and rejected claims on the three Iranian islands as “counter constructive”.

“Repeating baseless claims has no effects on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s territorial integrity and is considered a counter constructive position,” he said on Saturday.

He described three islands of the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa as “inseparable” parts of Iran.

Iran has prioritized “friendly relations based on non-interference in domestic affairs, mutual respect and respect to territorial integrity”, he said.

He added that Iran is ready to expand friendly ties and cooperate in countering terrorism in the Middle East region.

The Persian Gulf littoral states concluded the group’s 36th annual summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, using the event’s final communiqué to express support for what they called the Emirates’ “right” to the three Iranian islands’ soil, waters, and airspace.

The [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq. Its member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The three islands of the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa are parts of Iran according to countless historical, legal and geographical documents, however, the United Arab Emirates has repeatedly laid claim to the islands.

NA/MD