Claims of Iran to disputed islands in Persian Gulf

This file is part of a sequence of files relating to Iran's claim to the Tunb Islands, disputed with Ras Al Khaimah, and to Abu Musa, disputed with Sharjah, in the Strait of Hormuz. It contains correspondence from June-July 1971 concerning the search for a solution to this dispute and to the progress of the Union of Arab Emirates, including reference to:

• A visit to Italy by Iranian Foreign Minister Ardeshir Zahedi for official talks; and his official visit to Bahrain to sign the median line agreement
• Kuwait's claim that the islands are Arab
• Conclusions from W H T Luce's tour of the Gulf
• Concern about an incident involving British aircraft and the Iranian navy; and a possible Iranian order to fire on low-flying RAF aircraft
• J F Walker's consultation with the Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and the Ruler of Umm Al Quwain Sheikh Ahmad Bin Rashid Al Mu'alla
• A brief for a possible visit to the Gulf by King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan
• A visit to the United Arab Republic by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah; and Kuwait's view of the dispute
• An attempt by the Iranian Ambassador in London Amir Khosrow Afshar to get the Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan to influence the Rulers of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi and Sheikh Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi
• An interview between the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the editor of Blitz Publications of India
• A brief for the visit of Henry Kissinger
• A suggestion that Director General for Middle East Affairs in the Iranian Foreign Ministry Feridun Zandfard visit the Trucial Coast for negotiations with HMG and the Rulers of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah
• Conversations between Foreign Secretary Alec Douglas-Home and Afshar
• Statements made to the press by the Ruler of Sharjah
• An editorial in Kayhan International
• Israel's wish to discuss the situation in the Gulf
• An election speech by the Iranian Prime Minister Amir-Abbas Hovyeda
• Talks between Saudi Arabia and United Arab Republic
• A cutting from the Tehran Journal, 'New UK envoy flies in'; and P E Ramsbotham's account of his first two weeks in the job, including encounters with his US colleague Douglas MacArthur II, the Shah and Zahedi
• A memorandum on 'Propaganda on the Persian Gulf from Cairo Radio and other sources, 19-25 June 1971'
• A conversation between Luce and Afshar on 30 June
• Proposed elements of a settlement to the islands dispute
• The concern of the Monarchist League at the vulnerability of the Gulf monarchies after Britain's withdrawal from the Gulf
• The involvement of the Ruler of Sharjah's adviser Northcutt Ely
• The Iranian press on the Gulf islands.