TEHRAN - Tehran on Thursday lamented a joint EU-PGCC statement on the three Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb, calling it an infringement on Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty and insisted that the islands belong to Iran for good.

The European Union and Persian Gulf Cooperation Council issued a statement on Wednesday at their 19th Joint Ministerial Meeting in Muscat, expressing concern over a lack of progress towards resolving the dispute between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the three islands.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Iran and the UAE can resolve minor misunderstandings over Abu Musa Island through dialogue.
Qashqavi said there is no need for certain countries to raise the issue frequently and that it won’t help the matter.
In their joint statement, the European Union and the PGCC also said Iran shall restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
Qashqavi insisted that Iran’s nuclear activities are strictly in accordance with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that the International Atomic Energy Agency is monitoring all the processes of nuclear work.
Iran’s nuclear activities have a “lawful, legal and transparent nature”, the spokesman reiterated.
He said such statements which are issued under “political motivations” are contrary to the commitments of the countries which are member to the IAEA and that “we consider them as useless and unconstructive”