WASHINGTON — 

Iranian Foreign Ministry officials summoned Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua in Tehran on Saturday (December 10) for a joint statement on the cooperation and development summit between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) involving three parties between the UAE and Iran. Disputed islands express "strong dissatisfaction" with China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a summit in Riyadh with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries on Friday during his visit to Iran's rival Saudi Arabia to discuss bilateral cooperation and development issues and issued a joint statement after the meeting.

In addition to expressing China's willingness and plans to strengthen cooperation with the Gulf Arab countries, the joint statement also touched on a series of issues related to Iran, including Iran's nuclear program and Iran's behavior in the region.

But what displeased Tehran the most and caused the Iranian authorities to summon the Chinese ambassador to Tehran very rarely was that the joint statement mentioned the three islands in the Strait of Holmes that Iran and the United Arab Emirates have sovereignty disputes—the Greater Tunbu, the Lesser Thumb and Abu Musa islands.

"The leaders of both sides emphasized their support for all peaceful efforts, including the United Arab Emirates' initiative and efforts aimed at peacefully resolving the three-island issue through bilateral negotiations in accordance with the norms of international law, so as to resolve the issue in accordance with international legal principles," a joint statement by China and the GCC countries said. Clause 12 states.

When British troops withdrew from the Middle East in 1971, they also withdrew from what is now the United Arab Emirates, including the three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa in the Strait of Holmes. As soon as the British army left, the then King Pahlavi of Iran immediately dispatched the Royal Iranian Navy to occupy the three islands in the Strait of Holmes. Iran has actually occupied these three islands so far.

Emirati leaders have since stressed that the three islands belong to the UAE, and that the UAE's claim has the support of other Arab countries, but Iran has rejected the UAE's claim to the three islands and has refused to hold talks or dialogue on it.

Although Iran was not named in the joint statement signed by Xi Jinping and the leaders of the Gulf countries, his call for bilateral negotiations in accordance with the norms of international law and to resolve issues in accordance with international legal principles actually formed a sharp opposition to Iran's refusal to negotiate.

However, due to the close relationship between Iran and China, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not publicly announce the "summoning" of the Chinese ambassador to express "protest" or "condemnation" as it did with Western countries. Foreign Ministry officials, the Iranian side expressed "strong dissatisfaction" to the Chinese side.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahi tweeted that the three islands were "an inalienable part of Iran's pure territory" and that Tehran would not hesitate to defend own territorial integrity.

However, Iranian netizens did not buy Amir Abdullahyan's tweet because he did not name China and he only tweeted in Persian. When he expressed his support for the integrity of China's territorial sovereignty, he tweeted bilingually in Persian and Chinese.

China and Iran signed a bilateral cooperation agreement valid for 25 years last year. Amir Abdullahyan said earlier this year that the agreement "has entered the implementation phase".

In fact, the joint statement signed by Xi Jinping and the leaders of the Gulf countries not only talked about the sovereignty dispute over the three islands between the UAE and Iran, but also expressed views on Iran's nuclear program and destructive regional activities.

“The leaders emphasized the importance of a comprehensive dialogue involving regional states to address the Iranian nuclear issue, destabilizing regional issues, deter support for terrorist, sectarian and illegal armed groups, and prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles and drones , to ensure the safety of international waterways and oil facilities, and to abide by UN resolutions and international legal principles," said Article 11 of the joint statement.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani issued a statement expressing "surprise" at the Iran-related clauses in the joint statement.

“Chinese colleagues should remember that while Saudi and U.S.-backed Islamic State terrorists and Al-Qaeda in Syria used brutal military aggression to destroy Yemen, it was Iran that stepped in to defeat the terrorists and establish regional stability and security so that terrorism could not Spread east and west," Mohammad Jamshidi, a political adviser to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, tweeted from Persian Gulf.