Fight for Abu Musa and the Tunbs

In the 1990s tremendous progress was made solving the border disputes in the Gulf “from half to nine-tenths” (Sick & Potter, 1997, p. 156). However, one conflict that remains active is between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about Abu Musa and the Tunbs, islands captured by Iran at the end of British presence in the Gulf. Two different emirates claim sovereignty to the islands: Sharjah over Abu Musa and Ras al-Khaimah on the Tunbs.