ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on Monday slammed the Arab League summit’s affirmation of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) sovereignty over the islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb, calling the claims “baseless.”

The Arab League reaffirmed its support for the UAE’s sovereignty over the three islands in the final communique of the Baghdad-hosted 34th Arab League summit on Saturday. The islands have been a point of contention between the two countries since their invasion by the Iranian navy in 1971.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers any claim in this regard to be contrary to the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law and a violation of the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of states,” Baghaei said in a statement reported by Iranian state media, adding that Iran “also considers raising such an issue in the final statement of the Arab Summit unacceptable.”

Baghaei called on the Arab League to “take into account established historical and geographical facts in formulating its positions, rather than making baseless claims, and to strive to strengthen understanding and relations among the countries of the region.”

The three islands, located in the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, were captured by Iranian naval forces following the withdrawal of British forces in 1971.

The Arab League’s support for the UAE’s sovereignty over the islands has become akin to a theme for the final statement of the League’s annual summits. The league’s summits have called for finding a peaceful solution to the dispute between the two countries while reaffirming their support for the Emirates' sovereignty over the island numerous times, including the 2024 summit in Bahrain last year.