Iran said the problem of the Abu Moussa islands can be solved bilaterally

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on Monday that statement of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) included repetitive claim about three disputed Islands in the Persian Gulf, which are claimed by the United Arab Emirates.

Irna's official news agency said Asefi dismissed the claim of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as without basis and said that the UAE "had better hold talks with Iran and the matter would be resolved through bilateral negotiations."

He described interference of other states of the Persian Gulf in Iran-UAE misunderstanding as "unjus," and said that the third parties in the Persian Gulf had better not interfere in bilateral issues.

Asefi called on UAE leaders to pursue bilateral talks with Iran to remove misunderstanding in accordance with the letter of understanding signed in 1971 between Iran and the UAE about Island of Abu Mousa.