TEHRAN: Iranian state TV said the country has set up offices on a Gulf island also claimed by the United Arab Emirates.
The report quoted an Iranian marine official, Ali Taheri Motlaq, as saying that Iran has set up two offices on Abu Musa island. He said one is a marine rescue center and the other is a registration office for ships and sailors.
It’s the first time in more than a decade that Iran has reported development on the island, which has been controlled by Tehran since Britain gave it up in 1971. That is the same year Britain gave up land that is now the UAE which also claims Abu Musa island.
The tiny island is on strategic land at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. Up to 40 percent of the world’s oil supply passes through the area.
