Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has condemned a joint statement issued by the United States and the United Arab Emirates regarding the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf.

According to The Iran Project, “The three islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb are inseparable parts of Iran's territory and any remarks by third parties regarding them are fundamentally invalid and unacceptable,” Kanaani said in a statement on Wednesday.

He added that the repeated baseless claims by the UAE about the three Iranian islands and the issuance of political statements in collaboration with other parties lack legitimacy and do not undermine Iran’s legal status or sovereignty over the islands.

Following a meeting at the White House on Monday, US President Joe Biden and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a joint statement on the strategic partnership between their countries, which included a paragraph repeating the UAE’s claim to the Iranian islands.

The three Persian Gulf islands have historically been part of Iran, proof of which can be found in historical, legal, and geographical documents in Iran and other countries.