Iran Dismisses PGCC’s Stances on Trio Islands, Joint Oil Field
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected the sections of a recent statement by the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) of Ministers regarding three Iranian islands and the Arash oil and gas field.
In a statement on Tuesday, Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei slammed as “interfering” certain contents of the PGCC statement issued at the conclusion of the 164th session of the PGCC Ministerial Council meeting in Kuwait.
Baqaei categorically rejected the PGCC statement’s claim on the three islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb, describing them as an inseparable and eternal part of the soil of Iran.
Iran condemns any comment from outsiders about its plans for residential construction on its three islands in the Persian Gulf, trips by its military and governmental officials to the islands or military war games on its territorial waters and soil, he added.
Baqaei further dismissed the PGCC statement’s one-sided stances about the Arash gas field.
He said Iran has always emphasized the need for constructive cooperation in the energy sector, as in the case of the Arash gas field, and for the joint exploitation of hydrocarbon resources according to the previous bilateral negotiations with Kuwait.
The spokesman went on to say that respect for mutual interests would pave the way for stronger regional cooperation.
The dispute over the Arash gas field dates back to the 1960s when Iran and Kuwait were awarded overlapping offshore concessions for the field following its discovery.
The dispute has undergone several rounds of assertions and rebuttals by the involved parties, becoming a friction point among the three neighboring states of the Persian Gulf.
Iran says dialogue is the fundamental means to resolve the dispute.
