Tehran - BORNA - Abbas Araghchi held the call with Constantinos Kombos on Friday, underscoring Iran’s principled policy of respecting the national sovereignty of all countries, including that of Cyprus, and stressing the need for upholding the core principles of the United Nations Charter, particularly those concerning national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He underlined that the Islamic Republic absolutely rejected and deemed unacceptable any interventionist position regarding its territorial integrity.
Kombos, for his part, emphasized the importance of Cyprus’s “longstanding relations” with Iran and affirmed that his country considered itself committed to respecting the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, including the Islamic Republic’s.
The Cypriot official also noted that his country would assume the rotating presidency of the European Union at the beginning of 2026, expressing hope that it could play a positive role in advancing relations between the bloc and Iran.
The phone call came days after the Foreign Ministry summoned Cyprus’s ambassador to Tehran to lodge a strong protest over meddlesome remarks related to Iran’s territorial integrity.
The move came after a joint statement by Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates featured claims regarding the Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb in the Persian Gulf.
During the meeting with the Cypriot envoy, Mohammad Alibek, Iran’s assistant foreign minister and director-general for the Persian Gulf, handed the ambassador a formal written protest conveying Tehran’s strong objection.
Alibek stressed that the three islands were inseparable parts of Iranian territory and underlined the Islamic Republic’s undisputed and longstanding sovereignty over them, noting that the country’s historical and effective control over the islands was beyond question.
He laid emphasis on Iran’s firm condemnation of any territorial claims against its sovereignty, saying such positions violated the fundamental principle of respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the principle of good neighborliness.
Nicosia was then demanded to swiftly rectify the false stance and avoid repeating similar remarks in the future.
The three islands have long been administered by Iran. They were under British control from 1921 until November 30, 1971, when, following British withdrawal from the region and shortly before the formation of the UAE, Iran’s sovereignty over the islands was restored and officially documented.
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