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The Emergence of the United Arab Emirates 195

claim was finally dropped, in May 1970, Bahrain, whose social
structure, system of administration and services were far more
advanced than those of its proposed partners, lost all interest in
the proposed federation and opted, as was only natural, for complete
independence. Qatar, on the other hand, realised that its alliance
with Dubai—through the long friendship, bolstered by commercial
and marital links, between their ruling families—was not enough
to dislodge Zayid of Abu Dhabi from the position of greatest impor­
tance in the federation. In May 1970, therefore, Qatar named
its first cabinet, and it gradually withdrew from the move towards
unity.
That left the seven Trucial states. Of them, Abu Dhabi was
undoubtedly the leading power, owing to its great wealth and
Shaykh Zayid’s energetic role in cementing the relationships between
the shaykhdoms’ rulers and asserting himself as leader. Abu Dhabi
was particularly conscious of the vagueness of its borders, and,
as the state with the greatest potential for oil, had the greatest
interest in promoting a successful union. Dubai, next in importance,
was not as eager: its location and the great aptitude of its townsmen
for business had made it a bustling commercial centre of the
Gulf, and it jealously wanted to preserve its role; furthermore,
it had a large and prosperous Iranian community, which, owing
to the generally anti-Iranian sentiments of the other states, could
have become a complication. After much deliberation and dispute
over such matters as proportional representation in the forthcoming
federation, serious plans to set up a constitution and plan construc­
tively for a modern nation were made. A provisional constitution
accepted, in July 1971, by all but one of the rulers gave the
greatest share of authority to Abu Dhabi and Dubai; it was because
of this that Saqr bin Muhammad al-Qasimi of Ras al-Khaimah,
who had deposed his uncle Sultan bin Salim in 1948, refused
to join the federation, which Ras al-Khaimah stayed out of until
February 1972.
On the eve of the British withdrawal, Iran occupied the islands
of Abu Musa and the Tunbs, claimed by Sharjah and Ras al-Khai­
mah, respectively. The ruler of Sharjah, Khalid bin Muhammad
al-Qasimi, who had deposed his cousin Saqr bin Sultan in 1965,
had made a last-minute agreement with the Iranian Government;
in it he had agreed to the establishment of an Iranian military
post on Abu Musa, in exchange for aid of S3 million a year
from Iran over a period of nine years. A further stipulation was
that any revenues from the island should be shared equally by
Sharjah and Iran. Shaykh Saqr of Ras al-Khaimah refused to
sign a similar agreement, and the Iranian occupation was fierce
and dramatic, with a certain amount of bloodshed. Although both