Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
WASHINGTON, DC — Together, Abu Musa, Greater Tunbs and Lesser Tunbs amount to fewer than 26 square kilometers of sand and scrub. But their location in the middle of Persian Gulf shipping and tanker lanes near the Strait of Hormuz gives the islands huge strategic importance.
And this importance extends not only to the United Arab Emirates and Iran – both of which claim the islands — but far beyond. The dispute over who has sovereignty over the islands dates back more than a century. Until recently, the debate was a regional matter. Now, in the light of rising tension over Iran’s nuclear plans and Israel’s threats to attack Iran, the dispute could heat up quickly.
Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
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Voice of America
Voice of America recently interviewed Thomas R. Mattair, executive director of the Middle East Policy Council, on the disputed Abu Musa and Tunbs islands claimed by both Iran and the UAE. Dr. Mattair is the author of The Three Occupied UAE Islands: The Tunbs and Abu Musa, and, more recently, Global Security Watch-Iran: A Reference Handbook.