Abu Musa

Abu Musa (Persian: ابوموسی‎ listen , Arabic: أبو موسى‎) is a 12.8-square-kilometre (4.9 sq mi) island in the eastern Persian Gulf near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.[3] Due to the depth of sea, oil tankers and big ships have to pass between Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs; this makes these islands some of the most strategic points in the Persian Gulf.[4] The island is administered by Iran as part of its province of Hormozgan, but is also claimed by the United Arab Emirates as a territory of the emirate of Sharjah.[5][6]

This article is about an island in the Persian Gulf. For other uses, see Abu Musa (disambiguation).

Abu Musa
Disputed island
Other names:
  • Persian: ابوموسی‎
  • Arabic: أبو موسى‎
Abu Musa Island in the Persian Gulf
Geography
LocationPersian Gulf
Coordinates25°52′N 55°02′E
Total islands1
Area12.8 km2 (4.9 sq mi)
Highest point
  • Mount Halva
  • 110 m (360 ft)
Administered by
Iran
ProvinceHormozgan
Largest cityAbu Musa (1,953)
Claimed by
United Arab Emirates
EmirateSharjah
Demographics
Population2,131 (as of 2012)
Density166/km²
Abū Mūsá Lighthouse
LocationAbu Musa, Iran
Coordinates25°53′06.5″N 55°02′02.2″E
Constructionmasonry tower
Tower shapesquare short tower atop building
Focal height130 metres (430 ft)
Range9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 8s.
Admiralty numberD7706
NGA number28744[1][2]
A map dated 1891 showing Abu Musa.

Name

Iranian Abu Musa's inhabitants call it "Gap-sabzu" (Persian: گپ‌سبزو‎), which in Persian means "the great green place." On old Persian maps, the island is called:

  • "Boum-Ouw" (Persian: بوم‌اوو‎) or "Boum-Ouf" (Persian: بوم‌اوف‎) which in Persian means "Waterland".
  • "Boum-Souz" (Persian: بوم‌سوز‎) or "Boum-Sou"/"Boum-Souw" (Persian: بوم‌سو‎) or "Gap-Sabzou" (Persian: گپ‌سبزو‎) which in Persian means "Green Land".[7]

However, in recent centuries it has also been called Bum Musa, Persian for "the land of Musa/Moses," instead of "Boum-Sou".[8]

Arabs claim that the name "Abu Musa" (Arabic: أبو موسى‎) comes from Abu Musa Ashaari, a companion of Prophet Muhammad, who stayed on the island in 643 A.D before battling the Persians.[9][10]

Geography

Abu Musa island is located 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Bandar-e Shenas and 59 kilometres (37 mi) north-northwest of Sharjah. Out of 14 islands of Hormozgan it is the island farthest from the Iranian coast. Its highest point is the 110-metre (360 ft) Mount Halva.[11] Abu Musa city is the center of the island. The weather in Abu Musa is warm and humid, although, compared to the place in the Persian Gulf, Abu Musa has a better climate and the most diverse ecosystem, but it lacks suitable soil and water for farming leaving fishing as the main industry for locals.

History
Abu Musa and other islands in the Persian gulf in a map by Adolf Stieler

The sovereignty of Iran on Abu Musa has been disputed by UAE, which inherited the dispute in 1971.[12][13] By common consent, the island had been under the control of the Qasimi ruler of Sharjah[14][15] In 1906, the uncle of Sharjah's ruler awarded a concession for the iron oxide deposits of Abu Musa to three Arabs, whose workers extracted the mineral and agreed to sell it to Wonckhaus, a German enterprise. However, when the ruler discovered this, he cancelled the concession and the workers were removed from the island with assistance from the British, resulting in an international incident.[16][17]

After 1908, the UK controlled the island along with the other British-held islands in the Persian Gulf, including what is today the UAE. In the late 1960s, the UK transferred administration of the island to the British-appointed Sharjah, one of the seven sheikdoms that would later form the UAE.

After the UK announced in 1968 that it would end its administrative and military positions in the Persian Gulf, Iran moved to reattach the island politically to the mainland. On 30 November 1971 (two days before the official establishment of UAE), Iran and Sharjah signed a Memorandum of Understanding. They agreed to allow Sharjah to have a local police station and Iran to station troops on the island according to the map attached to the Memorandum of Understanding.[15] The agreement also divided the island's energy resources between the two signatories. "By agreeing to the pact, the tiny emirate prevented an invasion by Iran, which two days earlier had taken two other disputed islands, the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, which were even smaller and uninhabited."[18]

Sheikh Saqer welcoming Iranian troops of Iran's destroyer Artemiz in Abu Musa, 1971

One day before the UK officially left the region, Iran stationed its troops on the island and was officially welcomed by the Sheik of Sharjah's brother; Sheik Saqer.[19]

The UAE took its sovereignty claim over Abu Musa and the two Tunb islands to 9 December 1971 meeting of the United Nations Security Council. At that meeting, it was decided to "defer consideration of this matter to a later date".[20][21] Iraq (Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr era),[22] Kuwait,[23] Algeria,[24] South Yemen[24] and Libya[24] held the view that the territory rightfully belongs to the UAE.[25][26][27][28][29] Since that time, the UAE has consistently called in public statements[21][30] for either bilateral negotiations or by referring the issue to the International Court of Justice (or another form of international arbitration).[31]

Saddam Hussein attempted to justify the Iran–Iraq War by claiming that one of the objectives was to "liberate" Abu Musa and the Tunbs in the Persian Gulf. In 1992, Iran expelled foreign workers who operated the UAE-sponsored school, medical clinic, and power-generating station.[32] The Island dispute has also caused serious friction between Ras al-Khaimah and Sharjah on one hand and some other emirates of the UAE on the other hand. Ras Al Khaimah advocates tough measures against Iran. Dubai, on the other hand, believes that the conflict is unnecessary. The present ruler of Dubai (who is also Vice President, Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the UAE), Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has earlier stated publicly that "he believes the tensions over the islands have been fabricated by the United States".[33]

In 2012 a visit to the island by Iranian president Ahmedinejad provoked a diplomatic incident.[34] Iran's historical claim to ownership over the islands roots back to the Parthian and Sasanian Empires, among others.[35] Iran considers the island to have been occupied by the UK and refers to the agreement between Iran and the emirate of Sharjah in 1971.[15]

Demographics

As of 2012, the island had about 2,131 inhabitants, making it Iran's smallest county.[36] The city of Abu Musa had 1,953 inhabitants in 2012, up 248 from 2006.[37]

Most of the residents of the island speak the "Bandari" dialect of Persian.

Native UAE citizens living on the island allegedly face “great difficulties” with the lack of proper clinics and schools. Only one school exists on the island,[38] and it is used by 150 students.[39] Moreover, patients have to be transported to Sharjah to receive treatment, but that is sometimes not feasible because of the Iranian authorities.[39] In addition, Iran allegedly delays or blocks UAE's school and medical supplies from entering the island.[39]

Climate
Climate data for Jazireh Abu Musa (1984–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.8
(82.0)		 29.5
(85.1)		 36.0
(96.8)		 39.6
(103.3)		 41.8
(107.2)		 42.0
(107.6)		 45.0
(113.0)		 41.4
(106.5)		 43.0
(109.4)		 43.0
(109.4)		 35.0
(95.0)		 30.0
(86.0)		 45.0
(113.0)
Average high °C (°F) 23.0
(73.4)		 23.9
(75.0)		 25.5
(77.9)		 28.9
(84.0)		 32.5
(90.5)		 34.5
(94.1)		 36.3
(97.3)		 36.7
(98.1)		 35.4
(95.7)		 33.2
(91.8)		 29.6
(85.3)		 25.4
(77.7)		 30.4
(86.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 20.5
(68.9)		 21.0
(69.8)		 22.9
(73.2)		 26.0
(78.8)		 29.5
(85.1)		 31.6
(88.9)		 33.5
(92.3)		 33.7
(92.7)		 32.3
(90.1)		 30.0
(86.0)		 26.6
(79.9)		 22.7
(72.9)		 27.5
(81.6)
Average low °C (°F) 18.0
(64.4)		 18.5
(65.3)		 20.3
(68.5)		 23.1
(73.6)		 26.5
(79.7)		 28.8
(83.8)		 30.6
(87.1)		 30.8
(87.4)		 29.2
(84.6)		 26.8
(80.2)		 23.7
(74.7)		 20.0
(68.0)		 24.7
(76.4)
Record low °C (°F) 11.0
(51.8)		 8.0
(46.4)		 11.6
(52.9)		 15.8
(60.4)		 19.2
(66.6)		 23.4
(74.1)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.8
(80.2)		 24.0
(75.2)		 19.0
(66.2)		 17.0
(62.6)		 11.0
(51.8)		 8.0
(46.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 30.0
(1.18)		 20.1
(0.79)		 28.1
(1.11)		 6.8
(0.27)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.2
(0.01)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 1.6
(0.06)		 5.8
(0.23)		 33.7
(1.33)		 126.3
(4.98)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 2.4 1.9 2.3 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.8 2.8 11.0
Average relative humidity (%) 61 66 69 71 72 74 71 70 69 65 60 62 68
Mean monthly sunshine hours 227.4 225.9 231.6 267.4 312.4 315.8 284.7 294.5 280.5 293.9 263.4 228.9 3,226.4
Source: Iran Meteorological Organization (records),[40] (temperatures),[41] (precipitation),[42] (humidity),[43] (days with precipitation),[44]

(sunshine)[45]

gollark: Actual computers since basically forever.
gollark: Basically, krist mining has your computer solve hard problems which are nevertheless easy to *check* in order to show that it's done lots of work.
gollark: … no.
gollark: That is TOTALLY NOT what it is used for.
gollark: Don't worry, your processing power is DEFINITELY NOT being used to launch a level 12 stealth attack against the US government's firewalls in order to multiplex their AAC vectors, access their internal databases, and [REDACTED].

See also

References
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  2. NGA List of Lights – Pub.112 Archived 21 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 3 October 2016
  3. Iranian Islands of Tunbs and Abu Musa Archived 23 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Ewan W. Anderson; Gareth Owen (1993). An atlas of world political flashpoints: a sourcebook of geopolitical crisis. Pinter Reference. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-85567-053-2. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  5. Fred M. Shelley (30 April 2013). Nation Shapes: The Story Behind the World's Borders. ABC-CLIO. pp. 457–. ISBN 978-1-61069-106-2. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016. However, the United Arab Emirates and Iran dispute control over the islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb.
  6. Ibrahim Abed; Peter Hellyer (2001). United Arab Emirates: A New Perspective. Trident Press Ltd. pp. 182–. ISBN 978-1-900724-47-0. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016. Iran claims Abu Musa Territorial and political ambitions, combined with the economic interests of influential elements within the government, helped strengthen the first Iranian claim to the island of Abu Musa in 1904. Iran began to challenge ...
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  26. United Nations Security Council (1993). Letter dated 93/10/13 from the representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the General Assembly. New York: United Nations Annexes, Official Record. UNDOC: A/48/519. Archived from the original on 9 June 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  27. United Nations Security Council (September 1994). Letter dated 94/09/20 from the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (PDF). New York: United Nations Annexes, Official Record. UN DOC: A/49/412 S/1994/1078. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  28. United Nations Security Council (June 1995). Letter dated 95/06/21 from the Permanent Representative of Bahrain to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (PDF). New York: United Nations Annexes, Official Record. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  29. United Nations Security Council (October 1992). Letter dated 92/10/06 from the Permanent Representative of Oman to the United Nations addressed to the President of the General Assembly (PDF). New York: United Nations Annexes, Official Record. UNDOC: A/47/516. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  30. United Nations (17 September 1997). "Letter dated 16 September 1997 from the Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General" (PDF). United Nations General Assembly. Oceans and the Law of the Sea. 52nd Session. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  31. Mattair, Thomas (2005). The Three Occupied Islands of the UAE: The Tunbs and Abu Musa. Abu Dhabi: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. pp. 165–166. ISBN 9948-00-765-4.
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  33. Rubin, Barry M. (2002). Crises in the Contemporary Persian Gulf. Routledge. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0-7146-5267-2.
  34. Staff, By the CNN Wire. "Ahmadinejad's visit to island prompts UAE to recall Iran ambassador – CNN". Archived from the original on 12 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  35. http://namak.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=9001141115%5B%5D
  36. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  38. الأمير, نورا (2 February 2017). ""التربية" تفتح باب نقل المعلمين إلى مدرسة أبو موسى". Al Bayan (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  39. Ashor, Ahmed (22 April 2010). "إماراتيّون في "أبوموسى" يعيشون حياة بدائية تحت الاحتلال" [Emiratis in Abu Musa live a primitive life under occupation]. Emarat Al Youm (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  42. "Monthly Total Precipitation in Jazireh Abu Musa by Month 1984–2010". Iran Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  43. "Average relative humidity in Jazireh Abu Musa by Month 1984–2010". Iran Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  44. "No. Of days with precipitation equal to or greater than 1 mm in Jazireh Abu Musa by Month 1984–2010". Iran Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  45. "Monthly total sunshine hours in Jazireh Abu Musa by Month 1984–2010". Iran Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

Sources

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

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