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Top Iranian diplomat says his country’s relations with Russia are strong

Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation

DUBAI, July 18. /TASS/. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has described his country’s relations with Russia as durable and strong, the Iranian foreign ministry said on Tuesday after his telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Our country’s foreign minister described relations between Iran and Russia as durable," the ministry wrote on its Telegram channel. The top Iranian diplomat urged "not to do anything that could harm the deep relations between the two countries."

The Iranian minister "expressed surprise over the provision on three Iranian islands in the Gulf" in the final statement of the recent Russia-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) ministerial meeting. Abdollahian stressed that the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs "historically belong to Iran."

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on July 12 that the Iranian foreign ministry expressed protest to Russian Ambassador to Tehran Alexey Dedov in connection with the final statement of the Russia-GCC ministerial meeting. According to the news agency, the protest was expressed over the statement’s provision about the possession of three islands in the Gulf. The Iranian foreign ministry called on Russia to adjust its position on this matter, stressing that these islands belong to Iran, the agency said.

The sixth round of ministerial talks within the Russia-GCC strategic dialogue was held in Moscow on Monday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after the talks that the sides had adopted a joint plan of action for 2023-2028. According to the GCC secretariat, the ministers reiterated their support for all peace efforts, including the initiative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its efforts toward a peaceful resolution of the problem of three islands - Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs - by means of bilateral talks or at the UN International Court of Justice. These islands, which are located in a strategically important part of the Gulf, are disputed by the UAE and Iran.

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