evidence: The UAE has laid claim to three small islands in the Persian Gulf that Iran took control of in 1971 after the United Kingdom withdrew from the Persian Gulf and the UAE was formed. Other Arab states formally support the territorial claim. [...] A diplomatic source close to the UAE-China negotiations told Iran International that Beijing has decided not to support the UAE's claim of ownership over the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb at this meeting. [...] In the joint statement from the Russia-Arab countries meeting held on December 20, 2023, in Morocco, Russia once again supported Abu Dhabi's position on the three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa was once again supported.