evidence: Iranian officials have for months discussed plans to increase the number of Iranian residents on the Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb islands, which lie at the heart of a decades-long dispute with Iran’s southern neighbour the UAE. [...] Abu Musa, which is the largest of the three disputed islands, has a total area of about 25sq km (9.6sq miles), according to local media, with an estimated 520,000 residential plots to be marked out and allocated to eligible applicants. [...] Abu Musa is located approximately 75km (46 miles) from the Iranian mainland and, along with other islands near it, is considered crucial to the country’s maritime defence on the busy Strait of Hormuz where both oil tankers and warships pass.