Monday, April 26, 2010

UK 'involved' in regional tension



A senior Iranian lawmaker has condemned the provocative remarks made by Emirati officials, adding the US and Britain have always played a role in regional tensions.

"The voice of Britain is heard from the mouth of Emirate's foreign minister," Head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's Parliament (Majlis) Alaeddin Boroujerdi told the Mehr News Agency on Monday.

In a futile attempt, the Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan had tried to link the ownership of the three Persian Gulf islands of the Greater Tunb, the Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

Apart from a brief period of British rule in the 1800s, the three Persian Gulf islands are historically owned by Iran.

The islands were returned to Iran on November 30th, 1971 through a legal process long before the state of the United Arab Emirates was ever created.

"The United States and Britain exert pressure on Arab states which will occasionally lead to such remarks," Boroujerdi said.

He added that Iran's policy is based on promoting amicable relations with regional countries, particularly the Persian Gulf littoral states.

"Countries like the US and Britain have always attempted to portray a negative image of the Islamic Republic... since the victory of the Islamic Revolution (in 1979) to take advantage of good relations between Iran and Arab countries," the parliamentarian said.

He noted that Washington and London often plant security fears in the minds of weak-willed Arab statesmen in order to sell their most sophisticated weapons to these countries.