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

This file concerns Iran's dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb Islands with Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah. It contains correspondence relating to:

• Discussions between British officials and the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and other Iranian dignitaries
• The Personal Representative of the Foreign Secretary Sir W H T Luce’s shuttle diplomacy and efforts to reach a settlement on the islands and the broader future of the region
• Moves towards a union of six of the Trucial States as the United Arab Emirates and Iran’s opposition to this
• SAVAK agents on the Trucial Coast feeding information to the Shah
• Sightings of warships off Greater Tunb and the risk of a clash
• The positions of the United Arab Republic, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the US, France and Morocco
• Iranian and international press coverage of the dispute
• HMG's intelligence gathering on the islands
• The significance of the dispute within wider Anglo-Iranian relations
• King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan’s visit to Dubai and offer to mediate in the dispute
• The Shah’s fears that the islands will fall into the hands of a revolutionary regime that will threaten Iran’s access to the Strait of Hormuz, informed by recent events in the Bab Al Mandeb where a tanker carrying oil to Israel had been attacked by Palestinian guerrillas
• Ministry of Defence plans in case of an attempt to occupy the islands with diagrams
• A report setting out Sharjah’s claim to Abu Musa by the London law firm Coward Chance.