UAE: the question of the three islands will be discussed later

The United Arab Emirates UAE announced on Tuesday that the question of the three islands occupied by Iran ( Tanb the small, Tanb the great and Abu Mousa) will be the focus of discussions in coming meetings between officials of the two countries.

The UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed al-Nahyan said that he had not discussed during his visit to Iran in Iran's occupation of the three islands in the Gulf, the UAE demands.

In a statement to the Abu Dhabi satellite station after his coming back from Iran on Monday evening, the UAE minister said that the visit aims at " only congratulating President Muhammad Khatami on his re-election as President of the Republic of Iran," and did not tackled the issue of the three said islands.

But Sheikh Hamdan remarked that this conflict can be discussed between the two countries in meetings in the future. He continued:" there will be other coming visits between the two sides."

He said he had discussed with the Iranian officials " the grave conditions taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories in light of the brutal and continued Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people." The visit made by Sheikh Hamdan to Iran on top of the political delegation was the first since ten years.