Territorial issues relating to the Persian Gulf Islands (Abu Musa and the Tunbs)

This file concerns the disputed Abu Musa and Tunb Islands (which are held by Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah respectively but are claimed by Iran) and attempts to reach a settlement on this dispute before the imminent British military withdrawal from the Gulf. It contains correspondence relating to:

• Consultations on the disputed islands between British officials and the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah Sheikh Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and other Iranian dignitaries
• Possible compromise solutions to the dispute, including permitting an Iranian civilian presence or cash payments in exchange for sovereignty
• The Personal Representative of the Foreign Secretary Sir W H T Luce’s tours of the Gulf and efforts to broker a settlement on the region’s future
• The Shah’s determination to occupy the islands, which he regards as legally Iranian territory
• Soviet warships sighted heading towards the lower Gulf and Iran’s suspicions of their intentions
• The positions of Iraq and Saudi Arabia
• The effect of the dispute on the prospects of forming a political union in the Gulf following the British withdrawal in light of Iran’s opposition to the formation of a union until the issue of the islands has been settled
• The visit of a Saudi-Kuwaiti mission to the Gulf in an attempt to advance a settlement
• Public opinion in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah
• Reports of Iranian landings and sightings of Iranian flags on the Tunb Islands
• Reports and rumours on the dispute in the British, US and Arab press
• Fears that the islands may be pre-emptively occupied by Iraq or other hostile powers
• A secret report by the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), outlining Iran’s interests and the threat to the islands
• The role of the Sharjah-based American lawyer Northcutt Ely
• The possibility of stationing a detachment of the Trucial Oman Scouts on the islands
• The complications created by a simultaneous dispute concerning an oil concession, involving Umm Al Quwain, Buttes Gas and Oil Company and Occidental Petroleum Corporation.