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Abu Musa and its environs

This is a geographical article. For the Palestinian leader, see Said al-Muragha, for the Sahaba, see Abu-Musa al-Asha'ari.

Abu Musa (Persian: ابوموسی - Abū Mūṣā, Arabic: أبو موسى) is a 12-km² island located on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf, part of a six-island archipelago near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. It is claimed by Iran, which administers the island as part of the Hormozgan province, but is also claimed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).^[1]

The island had been a part of Iran from antiquity until the early 20th century,^[2] when Britain asserted control and administered it along with its other lands in the Persian Gulf, including what is today the UAE. In the late 1960s, Britain transferred administration of the island to the British-appointed Sharjah, one of seven sheikdoms that would join to become the UAE. After Britain announced in 1968 that it would relinquish its hegemony in the Persian Gulf, Iran moved to reattach the island politically to the mainland. In November 1971, UAE and Iran agreed to give sovereignty to the former but allowed the latter to station troops on the island.^[1]

In 1980, the UAE took its claim to the United Nations.^[1] In same year, Saddam Hussein attempted to justify the Iraq-Iran war by claiming that one of the objectives was to "liberate" Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb. In 1992, Iran increased its control by expelling foreign workers who operated the UAE-sponsored school, medical clinic, and power-generating station.^[3]

Abu Musa's roughly 500 inhabitants call it "Gap-sabzu" (Persian: گپ‌سبزو), which means "the great green place." On old maps, the island is called Bumuf or Bum-i Musa, Persian for "the land of Musa/Moses."

1. ^ ^{a b c} Article about Abu Musa in the Trade & Environment Database of the American University, Massachusetts
2. ^ Private website about Abu Musa
3. ^ GlobalSecurity.org about Abu Musa

• History, description, map of Abu Musa and nearby islands
• History of Abu Musa and The Tunbs
• Abu Musa's military garrison
• Dispute between Iran and Sharjah
• Maritime Boundaries in the Persian Gulf: the case of Tunb and Abu Musa Islands
• Report of the International symposium on Modern Boundaries of Iran - Problems and practices of Iranian boundaries, Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh, 10/15/02

• Schofield, Richard (2003). Unfinished Business: Iran, the Uae, Abu Musa and the Tunbs. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs. ISBN 0-905031-90-3. 

Coordinates: 25°52′N, 55°02′E

v • d • e Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf

Abbasak * Abu Musa Island * Buneh Island * Dara Island * Farsi Island * Forur Bozorg Island * Forur Koochak Island * Forurgan Island * Germ Island * Greater and Lesser Tunbs * Hendurabi Island * Hengam Island * Hormuz Island * Jonobi Island * Kharg Island * Kish Island* Larak Island * Lavan Island * Minu Island * Omolkarm Island * Qabre Nakhoda Island * Qeshm Island * Rostam Island * Shif Island * Shidvar Island * Sirri Island * Shomali Island * Smaller Bent Island