Page 378 - UAE Truncal States

The Formation of the Federation

serious difficulties have now arisen. My Government will be
extremely disappointed if these difficulties cannot be overcome. I
strongly urge all the Rulers to do their utmost to find a way of
resolving their difficulties . . . ”53
Nobody in the assembly doubted the honourable intentions of the
Political Resident, whose message was just one link in a long chain of
meetings and exchanges between officials of the British Foreign
Office and Rulers and officials in the Gulf. However, at this particular
moment the message served as a convenient pretext for some parti­
cipants to break up the meeting and not to sign the communique,
which was also—as became immediately obvious—strongly op­
posed by Iran. The Rulers of Ra’s al Khaimah and Qatar walked out
of the meeting while the British Political Resident’s message was
being read, claiming that it was an offensive interference and that
the British were trying to impose the Federation. After a short
time the Ruler of Qatar rejoined the meeting, which was adjourned
without the communique being signed, to be reconvened two
weeks later.
The reason why some delegations balked at this stage was their
apprehension of the reaction of neighbouring powers with claims on
parts of the area, in particular Saudi Arabia and Iran. Whether Iran
had in fact issued a warning to some members during the Abu Dhabi
meeting,54 or whether the increase in Iranian statements regarding
Bahrain and the other disputed islands was enough discouragement,
a declaration of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, issued a day after the
Abu Dhabi meeting broke up, proved correct the fears of those who
wanted to avoid antagonising Iran. It emphasised that “so long as the
future status of Bahrain has not been legally clarified the Federation
will under no circumstances be acceptable to Iran . . . The Imperial
Government expresses its regret at the decision taken by the Abu
Dhabi Conference without consideration of Iran’s views.”55
The October 1969 meeting did not reconvene in November as
planned, ostensibly because two States did not reply to the
invitations, but more likely because a great deal of further consul­
tation was going on privately.56 The nine Rulers never met again as a
Supreme Council.

Preparing for the possibility of withdrawal from the
federation
In the meantime both Bahrain and Qatar continued to build up
institutions, preparing for the moment when the British umbrella
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