US embassy cable - 04ABUDHABI1881

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 001881 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND NEA/NGA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2009 
TAGS: PREL, MOPS, IR, TC 
SUBJECT: UAE DETAINS IRANIAN FISHING VESSEL 
 
(U) Classified by Acting Deputy Chief of Mission 
Hilary Olsin-Windecker, reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) The UAE Coast Guard has seized an Iranian 
fishing boat that had entered UAE territorial waters, 
according to reports in the local press and confirmed 
by Embassy government contacts on June 7.  The 
incident, which took place on June 2, made the front 
page of the English language Gulf News and was also 
reported in the Arabic Al-Ittihad.  Press reports say 
the vessel's crew were detained and referred to the 
UAE authorities, but provided no other details.  An 
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as 
saying that the ministry "has taken action and talked 
to the UAE embassy.  Our embassy in Abu Dhabi is 
active in this matter, so as soon as possible those 
who have been taken will be freed." 
 
2. (C) A UAE government contact told us that the 
vessel, described by the Islamic Republic News Agency 
(IRNA) as a trawler, had come too close to some of the 
UAE's oil platforms in the Arabian Gulf and was in UAE 
territorial waters.  The UAE Coast Guard twice queried 
the vessel's occupants, then fired warning shots. 
When the vessel still did not respond, the Coast 
stopped it and seized its crew. 
 
3. (U) The report of the fishing boat incident came a 
day after the press reported that GCC foreign 
ministers meeting in Riyadh had discussed the long- 
standing occupation by Iran of the UAE's three islands 
of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Mussa.  The 
islands issue comes up frequently at GCC meetings and 
annually at UNGA.  GCC foreign ministers issued a 
statement expressing the hope that contacts between 
Iran and the UAE would lead to peaceful settlement of 
the problem.  The GCC position is that the three 
islands and surrounding areas are integral parts of 
the UAE's territory.  IRNA reported that an Iranian 
foreign ministry spokesman said that the fishing boat 
incident was not linked to the spat between the two 
countries over the three islands. 
 
4. (C) Comment:  The fishing boat incident involving 
the UAE and Iran is noteworthy because it raises to 
the surface again the sensitive and delicate islands 
issue for which Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of 
State for Foreign Affairs Shaykh Hamdan bin Zayed Al- 
Nahyan is responsible.  Shaykh Hamdan has not held 
high-level talks with the Iranians in at least 18 
months, but may want to do so depending on the outcome 
of the boat incident.  The one puzzling aspect of the 
boat incident is that it occurred on June 2, but was 
not reported by the Iranian press until June 6, and by 
the UAE press until June 7.  We will follow up with 
our contacts to get more details and to find out what 
the UAE plans to do next. 
WAHBA