Iran Rekindles Dispute over Persian Gulf Island

The U.S. State Department on April 18 backed the United Arab Emirates' call for Iran to accept an arbitrated settlement over the disputed island of Abu Musa. Washington's entry into the ongoing spat between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Iran is the latest in a series of rhetorical volleys since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's surprise April 11 visit to the island, which Iran and the United Arab Emirates both claim as its own. The United Arab Emirates had recalled its ambassador to Iran and canceled a friendly soccer match between the countries, and Arab countries such as Morocco and Qatar have expressed their indignation over Ahmadinejad's visit, prompting a meeting of GCC foreign ministers April 17 to discuss the issue.

Ahmadinejad's visit to Abu Musa has reignited an ongoing dispute between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, and by extension the GCC, resulting in fierce regional criticism of the move at a time when Iran is under increasing international scrutiny. The vitriolic response from the GCC states plays into Iran's regional strategy by both distracting regional attention from issues such as ongoing nuclear talks and demonstrating the GCC's inability to counter Iranian aggression without foreign backing.