Iran has rediscovered its voice but is unsettling its neighbours

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei repeated his country’s claim to the occupied Emirati islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, above. AFP

When dozens of Israeli warplanes bombed sites across Iran in June this year, this dangerous escalation was condemned clearly and publicly by Tehran’s Gulf neighbours. Although Iran and several members of the GCC do not see eye-to-eye on many issues, the collective leadership of the Gulf countries was unequivocal in their position that unilateral attacks on any nation were wrong and posed a real threat to regional stability.

Those June strikes, as well as Iran’s alarming retaliation when it bombed a US air base in Qatar, were the culmination of some serious setbacks for Tehran. The repeated loss of senior personnel to US and Israeli strikes as well as the blows suffered by its proxies across the Middle East – such as Israel’s September 2024 pager attacks on Hezbollah operatives and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria – suggested that Iran and its adventurism in the Arab world were on the back foot.

Since then, Tehran appears to have rediscovered its voice but in a way that is perturbing for those focused on building better relationships across the Gulf. The solidarity shown by its Arab neighbours in the face of Israeli bombing runs earlier this year appeared to have been forgotten when, on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei repeated his country’s claim to the occupied Emirati islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb.

Iran’s invasion of Greater Tunb in 1971 on the last day of a 118-year-old security treaty with Britain led to the death of 20-year-old police officer Salem Suhail Al Dahmani, killed in the defence of his homeland as the leaders of the emirates were preparing to unite as the UAE. The violent seizure of the three islands also allowed Iran to militarise Gulf waters and play an outsized role in the Strait of Hormuz at the time. Given the seriousness of this continuing occupation, it is not surprising that the GCC responded forcefully to Mr Baghaei’s statement, with the bloc’s Secretary General, Jasem Al Budaiwi, saying his remarks contained “fallacies and false claims”.

There is much political, security and economic potential in a renewed understanding between Iran and its Arab neighbours

It’s important for the Middle East as a whole that the Arab world enjoys a productive and cordial relationship with Tehran. It is true that ties between the GCC states and Iran have improved in recent years; this progress is to be welcomed and carefully nurtured. But Iranian obstreperousness is unhelpful. Heated remarks in Doha this week by former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif regarding oil rights in the Gulf do little to foster a healthy atmosphere of mutual respect.

No one is expecting a sudden change of heart on the part of Iran’s leadership nor the quick return of occupied territory. However, were Tehran to begin rethinking its clamorous attitude towards such issues as well as Iranian interference overseas more generally, this could allow a better relationship to bloom. There is much political, security and economic potential in a renewed understanding between Iran and its Arab neighbours. But vehement outbursts and the reopening of old wounds are not the stuff of which good neighbours are made. Iran and its people have much more to give than that.