Page 389 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Nine

much greater logistical problems of establishing an administration.
Fortunately, during Ihe four months available, agreement was
reached on an adequate number of measures required to enable the
UAE to present a unified face to Ihe world,101 and to achieve a certain
degree of internal cohesion. Thus, il was not a failure on the part of
the authorities in the Emirates to set their own house in order, that
might have led to a delay in the declaration of the federation. Two
complicating factors were the British requirement to hand over
certain responsibilities to recognised federal authorities and the
issue over Iran’s claim to the three Gulf islands, which was largely
outside the control of the main architects of this federation.

The issue of the islands
Iran had given up her claim to Bahrain to avoid a possible showdown
with the Arab World at a lime of uncertainty over how the British-
provided security of the Gulf would be replaced. After accepting
Bahrain’s independence the Shah and his government were de­
termined not to bargain over their claim to Abu Musa and the two
Tunbs. The larger Tunb has a population of up to 100 people, while
the small Tunb is normally uninhabited; they both lie nearer to the
Iranian coast than to Ra’s al Khaimah, but had for some time
belonged to the Qawasim Rulers. Abu Musa has been permanently
inhabited by a few subjects of the Ruler of Sharjah for generations
while many more have used the island for winter grazing for their
camels.102 Rulers of Sharjah have granted concessions to various
foreign companies (British and German) 103 to mine the red oxide
which used to be in demand in Europe before the introduction of
chemical paints, the revenue from such concessions was at one stage
important as the compensation granted by a new Ruler to his
deposed predecessor. 104
Iran argued that all three islands had belonged to it until early last
century, when the British Government of India arbitrarily assigned
them to the Qawasim Rulers; Iran’s intransigence would not permit
reasoning on historic, demographic, economic or any other grounds.
Very much preoccupied with its new role as self-appointed protector
of the Gulf and the north-western shores of the Indian Ocean, Iran
decided it just had to have these three islands with their strategic
positions near the entrance to the Gulf. When the Arab governments
of the region saw this and remonstrated, Iran did not alter its stance
but reiterated its determination.105 The Iranian Foreign Minister
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