Iran and the UAE islands

In a press statement issued in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, US Undersecretary of State Edward Walker said that the US attempts to maintain openness on Iran might be useful to negotiate over the question of three disputed Gulf islands.

In a statement to the United Arab Emirates al-Itihad daily, Walker expressed Washington's desire to encourage the Iranian leadership and the new parliament, which assumes its responsibilities after the elections, to adopt a position more inclined to negotiating over the issue of the islands of Abu Mousa, Lesser Tanb and Greater Tanb.

Walker added that the US backs the initiative proclaimed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (Arab Gulf states) to peacefully cooperate with Iran to settle the question of the islands.