Page 391 - UAE Truncal States_Neat

Chapter Nine

position and will attempt to bring pressure on Iran . . . and that they
will not permit it to act freely in occupying the island by fo rce. •• urn
An agreement between Sharjah and Iran was announced by the
Ruler of Sharjah on 29 November 1971 which was substantially more
favourable to Sharjah when compared to previous Iranian de­
mands.109 Sharjah retained sovereignly over the island except for a
part to be handed over to Iranian forces. In the event of oil being
produced on the island, Sharjah and Iran would have equal shares of
the revenue, but until Sharjah's own revenue from oil reached £3
million a year Iran was to give aid to Sharjah amounting to £1.5
million annually. 110
While the issue of the Iranian claim to Abu Musa was concluded in
the nick of time, the dispute over the two Ra’s al Khaimah islands
was not resolved. On 30 November, an Iranian task force took
possession of the allocated part of Abu Musa and was greeted by the
Deputy Ruler of Sharjah in accordance with the spirit of the peaceful
settlement. On the same day Iranian troops took over the two Tunbs
by force and a number of people, both Iranian troops and members of
Ra's al Khaimah’s police force, were killed on the Greater Tunb.
Although Britain was legally still bound to defend the Trucial
State's security she did not intervene. The Ruler of Ra’s al Khaimah
had been advised by Britain to accept an agreement similar to that
reached between Sharjah and Iran. Shaikh Saqr bin Muhammad of
Ra's al Khaimah refused such a deal to the last, and had instructed
his police force to shoot if Iranian troops attempted to land.
Reaction both against Iran, who had given a first demonstration of
its new power politics vis-a-vis an Arab country, and against Britain
ran high in some Arab countries. Iraq immediately severed diplo­
matic relations with Iran and Britain.
Most Arab States condemned the Iranian move: Libya, going one
step further, nationalised the interests of BP in Libya, handing them
over to the newly founded Arab Gulf Exploration Company.111
Throughout the Emirates of the lower Gulf, in particular in Ra's al
Khaimah and Sharjah. Iranian banks and other institutions were the
targets of stone-throwing youths. The Deputy Ruler of Sharjah who
had greeted the commander of the Iranian garrison force on Abu
Musa was shot at and wounded in Sharjah. These were the storm
clouds which cast long shadows over the formal inception of the
long-awaited Federation.

366