Current Events

Bad leadership

First of all if we beleive in diplomacy and if we dislike how England Francem and Russia behaved towards Iran then we should not try to settle disputes with military force and start to make claims for things that we do not have sufficient knowledge about, thanks to Faramarz for enlighting us on the subject.

The situation Iran is in now is totaly self inflicted. During Khatamis time Irans relationship was blossoming with all countries and there was no way in hell that UAE would have any say in this matter, through fraud and help of Khamenei Ahmadinejad destroyed all the bridges by saying things to get arab people behind him. By saying these things not did he only lose friends but he give arms to foreign countries.

 I do not think that his actions are unintentional. He wants us Iranians to rally behind him now that he needs us and what a better way than create national crisis and wake our national feelings before a war. 

Got them all by surprise

What Ahmadinejad did:

"For many Iranians, the dispute over Abu Musa, a four-square-mile spit of sand with about 2,000 inhabitants and surrounded by pristine blue waters, arouses strong nationalistic feelings at a time of general hopelessness over the devastating impact of a grinding economy, foreign sanctions and a feeling of unprecedented isolation. To that extent, it mirrors Iran’s nuclear program, which has also whipped up nationalistic emotions that Mr. Ahmadinejad has used to build support for the government."

//www.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/world/middleeast/dispute-over-island-of-abu-musa-unites-iran.html

these islands and entire persian golf belong to iran.

after the regime change in tehran with the help and aid of our air exclusion zone over the city of tehran and suburbs, the iranian armed forces with our full blessing &support & military aid of highest quality shall take the entire persian golf back from arabs.

VPK

I am not sure what you mean by ethnic cleansing of Bahrain.

Are you saying that at some point between 1783 and 1971, the Sunni Arab rulers of Bahrain threw out a whole bunch of Iranians? I don't believe that I have ever seen anything in history books that supports that.

Reality Check

Bahrain had not been under Iranian control since 1783 and was ruled independently by an Amir. It was being recognized by international organizations like UNESCO and supported by the British in 1971.

At the time, the Iranian diplomatic corps were told to walk out of gatherings that allowed Bahrainis as an independent entity. The choices in front of the late Shah back in 1971 was to either send in the troops and occupy Bahrain or come up with a diplomatic solution.

Iran was not in a strong military position to challenge the Brits (ala Falklands) to go in and take over the island. Iran had its hands full with Arvand Rood (shat-al-arab) dispute with Iraq and Pan-Arabism in general. So the late Shah agreed to the arrangement that the Brits pushed through the UN.

Bahrain mix up

Faramarz Bahrain is Iranian territory that was ethnically cleansed. That is why the people who now reside there are not as connected to Iran.

If we accept the argument then we are endorsing practice of ethnic cleansing as a legitimate way to gain territory. Next thing you know if various powers routinely displacing or killing populations to get their territory repopulated and annexed.

Guys with an agenda

Apparently you guys have an agenda " defending Israel, regardless of what it does" .    Well do not worry .. USA and the powerful Israeli lobby are already doing that ...

Jason Roabrds

My definition of a 'vatan forush' is someone who supports the interestbof their enemies. A short while ago you were condemning the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land but why is it that the Palestinians have always supported the 'Arabian' Gulf name and siding with the UAE over sovereignty of the Persian Gulf islands?

//www.yalibnan.com/2012/04/16/palestinian-off...

Why is it that your Palestinian friends cheered on Saddam Hussein when he invaded and Khuzestan and yet you have the audacity to condemn the MEK for launching its operations from Iraq.

Will all the Iranian.com Pro Palestinians not condemn their duplicitous behaviur and failure to stand shoulder to shoulder with Iran when it comes to Iranian national interest?

If you were a real Iranian at heart you will not hesitate to support Israel.

And since you criticize Israel for treating Palestinians as second class citizens then maybe you should spare a thought for our Arab Sunni compatriots who have been suffering institutiinal discrimination by the Islamic Republic for over three decades.

//www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/newsDetail_getN...

Jason Robards

Whenever someone asks if a certain group of people are Iranian or not, I ask a couple of very simple questions; Do they celebrate Norooz? Do they quote Hafez, Ferdosi or Rumi? Do they know Googoosh?

Based on my criteria, people from Tajikistan, northern Afghanistan and other central Asian countries have Iranian roots, Bahreinis don’t.

If you watched the World cup qualifiers a few years ago where Bahreinis beat Iran, waved the Saudi flags and sent them to the World Cup, you would know where their loyalties lie.

Bahreinis are not Iranian. Let’s not hang this one on the late Shah.

Shah was a vatan foroosh

    He was boasting about the ancient great persian empire , but gave away "Bahrein" to the sheiks. What a traitor!...... .....Bahrain was always an Iranian territory ....even from the pre -islamic times ....What a shame! ...history will always condemn that vatanforoosh  for such treason .

   Bayad tamamiayate arzi Iran ra hefz kard va dar baghaye on jan dad ....

Memorandum of Understanding of 1971

One of the least discussed aspects of the Iran-UAE dispute over the three islands is the text of the Memorandum of Understanding of November 1971 that provided the framework for the British Navy to leave the islands and turn them over to Iran. Here is the text:

“Neither Iran nor Sharjah will give up its claim to Abu Musa nor recognize the other's claim. Against this background the following arrangements will be made:

1. Iranian troops will arrive in Abu Musa. They will occupy areas the extent of which have been agreed on the map attached to this memorandum.

2. (a) Within the agreed areas occupied by Iranian troops, Iran will have full jurisdiction and the Iranian flag will fly.

(b) Sharjah will retain full jurisdiction over the remainder of the island. The Sharjah flag will continue to fly over the Sharjah police post on the same basis as the Iranian flag will fly over the Iranian military quarters.

3. Iran and Sharjah recognize the breadth of the island's territorial sea as twelve nautical miles.

4. Exploitation of the petroleum resources of Abu Musa and the sea bed and subsoil beneath its territorial sea will be conducted by Buttes Gas & Oil Company under the existing agreement, which must be acceptable to Iran. Half the governmental oil resources hereafter attributable to the said exploitation shall be paid direct by the Company to Iran and half to Sharjah.

5. The nationals of Iran and Sharjah shall have equal rights to fish in the territorial sea of Abu Musa.

6. A financial assistance agreement will be signed between Iran and Sharjah.”



In my opinion, Iran agreeing to this MOU reflects two things.

First, the weaker Iran’s position vis-à-vis the Brits back in 1971 that resulted in accepting this MOU.

Secondly, the lack of follow through by the late Shah in the ensuing years when Iran was much stronger to turn this MOU into a UN resolution that would have formalized Iran’s sovereignty over the three islands once and for all.