DUBAI, April 15 (Reuters) – Gulf Arab states will meet in
Qatar on Tuesday to discuss a territorial dispute between the
United Arab Emirates and Iran over a small island in the Strait
of Hormuz that both claim, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
said on Sunday.
The UAE recalled its ambassador from Tehran on Wednesday
after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Abu Musa
island, 60 km (40 miles) off the UAE, as part of a tour of
Iran’s Gulf coast, a visit described by the UAE foreign minister
as “a flagrant violation of the UAE’s sovereignty.”
An emailed statement from the GCC gave the time and location
of Tuesday’s meeting without details of its agenda.
“This will be an extraordinary meeting based on the UAE’s
request to discuss the Iranian president’s recent visit to the
island,” a GCC official told Reuters separately.
A source familiar with preparations for the meeting had
previously said it would be held on Wednesday.
Both countries claim Abu Musa and two other small islands,
located near the key shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz at
the mouth of the Gulf. Iran took control of the islands in 1971,
shortly before the Gulf emirates gained full independence from
Britain and formed the UAE.
The islands are valued for their strategic position in the
Strait of Hormuz and for their potential oil reserves.
(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Tim Pearce)
