evidence: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the small island of Abu Musa near the Strait of Hormuz on in mid-April sparked a furious response from the United Arab Emirates, which disputes Tehran's claim to sovereignty over the island. [...] The row is the latest flare-up in a long-standing territorial dispute between Iran and the UAE over the islands of Abu Musa and the nearby Greater and Lesser Tunbs. [...] Iran gained control of the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and of part of Abu Musa in 1971 after the departure of British forces from the Gulf. It has since consolidated its control of Abu Musa and claims sovereignty over all three islands on historical grounds. On 18 April 2012, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the country's ownership of the islands was "definitive, permanent and non-negotiable".