copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-10-11): He went on to reiterate Morocco’s commitment to a political process, conducted exclusively under the auspices of the United Nations, that hinges on Morocco’s autonomy initiative and is within the context of Morocco’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In conclusion, he expressed his country’s support for the territorial integrity of the United Arab Emirates and called for an end to Iran’s occupation of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs. [...] The representative of Iran rejected Morocco’s remarks about Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs in the Persian Gulf, asserting that they amounted to a blatant interference in Iran’s domestic affairs. He emphasized Iran’s sovereignty over these islands and underscored that all decisions and measures taken by Iranian officials concerning these islands have consistently been grounded in principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. [...] The representative of the United Arab Emirates reiterated that Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs are an integral part of her country’s territory, based on well-established historical facts which are not in dispute. She called on Iran to seek a peaceful resolution to this matter in accordance with international law and the UN Charter through either bilateral negotiations or by referring the matter to the International Court of Justice.
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-05-18): TEHRAN – Iran has strongly rejected the recent statement issued by the Arab League regarding the Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb islands in the Persian Gulf. [...] Kanaani, responding to this, emphasized that Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb have historically belonged to Iran. "It has been stated and emphasized many times that the three Iranian islands of Abu Musa as well as Greater and Lesser Tunbs are an integral and eternal part of the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and such baseless claims in the statement in question are rejected," he noted.
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (1998-11-04): Moreover, the UAEs military forces either on their own or in combination with those of the GCC cannot deter the federations principal security threat, Iran. The federation claims that Iran illegally occupies Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, but Tehran has refused to relinquish control over these three islands. UAE officials believe that the best way to restrain Iranian expansion in the southern Gulf is to integrate a unified, militarily strong Iraq into the Gulfs balance of power. The problem with this strategy is that the United States, which currently dominates the Gulfs military balance, believes that the current regime in Baghdad threatens regional security and opposes any plan that would reintegrate Iraq into an international security structure. [...] While it is true that the Iranians currently deployed on Abu Musa and the Tunbs could harass Gulf shipping or attack UAE cities, the fact remains that the United States maintains a strong enough military presence in the Persian Gulf to drive Iran off the islands. Moreover, Tehran has other bases in Bandar Abbas, Qishim Island and several other areas near the strait of Hormuz much better situated for attacks on Gulf shipping than either Abu Musa or the Greater or the Lesser Tunbs. Because of the short distances separating Iran and the UAE, neither state today could take military action against the others positions on the islands without jeopardizing its own security. This vulnerability in large part explains why the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunbs has, and likely will remain, largely a war of words. 23
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2013-12-03): For over forty years, the dispute over the three islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb has been a sore in relations between the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Initially occupied by Iran in 1971 during the time of the Shah and the formation of the UAE, the islands are a useful study of a seemingly intractable territorial dispute between a small set of city states and a regional hegemon.
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-08-17): Iran’s current system of straight baselines that connects islands in the Persian Gulf appears not have great significance for the passage regime in the Strait of Hormuz. When selecting base points for its system of straight baselines, Iran respected the rule that a base point that is located on land over which there are contested sovereignty claims cannot constitute an "appropriate point" in terms of Article 7(1) of losc. The title over the islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa, located in the eastern end of the Persian Gulf, is contested between Iran and the United Arab Emirates since 1971 when Iran occupied the islands.50 Iran has not connected Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa by a straight baseline with its mainland coast and neighbouring islands.51 The islands of Forur, Bani Forur and Sirri are also not part of Iran’s system of straight baselines, albeit Iran’s title over these islands is not disputed.52 It is doubtful if these islands can be considered as a fringe of islands along the coast in the immediate vicinity of Iran’s mainland (see Art 7(1) of losc). These islands are distant from the mainland coast as they are located in the centre of the eastern part of the Persian Gulf and west of Tunbs and Abu Musa islands.53
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2011-09-26): "The actions taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran with the aim of changing the legal, physical and demographic situation of the islands are null and void and have no legal effect whatsoever," he said, referring to Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands. "Those Iranian actions also constitute a violation of international law, and the UN Charter. Therefore, the UAE demands of the Islamic Republic of Iran to enter into serious and direct negotiations between the two countries, or to refer the issue to the International Court of Justice in the light of its continuous illegal occupation of the three islands which are an integral part of the territorial sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates." Exercising his right of reply later today, Iran’s representative said the islands were an "eternal part" of Iranian territory and were under Iranian sovereignty, and any attempts to qualify that were wrong.
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2008-09-08): Last month, Tehran announced it was building maritime offices on the Persian Gulf island of Abu Musa, reigniting the long-standing territorial dispute between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Since 1970, the disagreement over the island and the neighboring Greater and Lesser Tunbs has been mired in legal uncertainty and historical claims and counterclaims, hindering diplomatic relations between Iran and the Gulf Arab states. The recent diplomatic intensity surrounding the issue, however, including the UAE's August 21 formal protest to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon, is a significant break from the past, and may be a forerunner to a future escalation. Considering the importance of the islands -- all three are strategically located near the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world's oil passes daily -- the dispute's outcome is deeply tied to the interests of the United States and the international community.
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2013-10-04): Last week, the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, renewed his country’s demand for the restoration of sovereignty over three islands in the Persian Gulf region. "My Government expresses, once again, its regret regarding the continued Iranian occupation of our three islands – Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, and demands the restoration of the UAE’s full sovereignty over these islands. We, therefore, call upon the international community to urge Iran to respond to the repeated peaceful, sincere calls of the United Arab Emirates for a just settlement of this issue, either through direct, serious negotiations or by referral to the International Court of Justice", he stated. Responding to the statement by the UAE, Iran’s representative reiterated his country’s full sovereignty over the islands and categorically rejected any claims to the contrary. Abu Musa, Greater Tunbs and Lesser Tunbs are three small islands located along the mid-point of the Persian Gulf near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz in a potentially oil-rich area. The main shipping and tanker channel in and out of the Persian Gulf lies between Abu Musa and the Iranian-controlled islands of Greater and Lesser Tonbs.
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-13): International: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani reasserted Iran’s claims to three islands and a disputed oil and gas field in the Persian Gulf. "The Iranian islands of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb are an inseparable and eternal part of the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Kanani emphasized. "Any claim to the three islands is an interference in Iran's internal affairs and territorial integrity, and we strongly condemn it." He was responding to Gulf Cooperation Council statement backing the claim of the United Arab Emirates to the islands.
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-09-14): Ali Akbar Velayati says three disputed islands which UAE claims as its own are ‘integral part’ of Iran’s history, territory. [...] Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ali Akbar Velayati on Thursday reiterated his country’s stance towards the islands and said they are a part of Iran’s history and are an "integral part of our territory". The decades-long dispute is over the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa – three islands in the Strait of Hormuz that have been governed by Iran since 1971 and are claimed by the UAE as part of its territory.
Claim: Greater and Lesser Tunbs is a territory of Iran (Greater and Lesser Tunbs, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2012-04-17): The United States reiterates its support for a peaceful resolution between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb islands. The United States appreciates the UAE’s efforts in this regard and urges Iran to respond positively to the UAE’s initiative to resolve the issue through direct negotiations, the International Court of Justice or another appropriate international forum. Actions such as the April 11 visit by Iranian President Ahmadinejad to the Abu Musa Island only complicate efforts to settle the issue.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-07): Nagorno-Karabakh (/nəˌɡɔːrnoʊ kərəˈbɑːk/ nə-GOR-noh kər-ə-BAHK)[3] is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik. Its terrain mostly consists of mountains and forestland. [...] Nagorno-Karabakh has a total area of 4,400 square kilometres (1,699 sq mi).[130] Approximately half of Nagorno-Karabakh terrain is over 950 metres (3,120 ft) above sea level.[131] The borders of Nagorno-Karabakh resemble a kidney bean with the indentation on the east side. It has tall mountain ridges along the northern edge and along the west and mountainous south. The part near the indentation of the kidney bean itself is a relatively flat valley, with the two edges of the bean, the districts of Martakert and Martuni, having flatlands as well. Other flatter valleys exist around the Sarsang reservoir, Hadrut, and the south. The entire region lies, on average, 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level.[131] Notable peaks include the border mountain Murovdag and the Great Kirs mountain chain in the junction of Shusha and Hadrut districts. The territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh forms a portion of the historic region of Karabakh, which lies between the rivers Kura and Araxes, and the modern Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Nagorno-Karabakh in its modern borders is part of the larger region of Upper Karabakh.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-09-30): Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed, Armenian-controlled breakaway region inside internationally recognised Azerbaijan. The two former Soviet states have been locked in conflict over the territory for the last four decades. A bloody war in the early 1990s saw an estimated 20,000 people killed, and a million displaced. It was ended by an uneasy ceasefire in 1994, which was never followed by a truce. [...] Armenia-Azerbaijan: A local conflict with a frightening global reach [...] There are several possible outcomes, but none includes an immediate ceasefire or peace agreement. It is hard to see how either side would renounce their claims to territory in Nagorno-Karabakh. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan see the region as theirs – a source of historical identity and security – and the memories of war atrocities run deep. Yet there is no obvious prospect of military victory for either side. The richer Azerbaijan has a better-equipped army, supplemented with new drone hardware from Israel and Turkey. Armenian forces are considered to be better organised, however, with the advantage of defensive positions. A good prognosis would see battles focused on small pockets of land and ended within a week; a bad prognosis would suggest a return to protracted, all-out war.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-07-12): The Caucasus Mountains is a strategically important region located at the intersection of Asia and Europe. The Caucasus is divided into two main regions; North Caucasus and South Caucasus. The North Caucasus covers part of Eastern Europe, majorly Russia, while the South Caucasus corresponds with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. Different powers, both Muslims and Christians, have vied for the region’s control for centuries. Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory in the South Caucasus located within Karabakh. Although the disputed territory is recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan, it is an ethnic-majority Armenian region controlled by the Republic of Artsakh (formerly known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic). Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked area in Transcaucasia (South Caucasus) located in Karabakh, a geographic area lying between Zangezur and lower Karabakh and covering Lesser Caucasus. Karabakh is mostly a mountainous region extending from eastern Armenia to Southwestern Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh is located in southwestern Azerbaijan and covers approximately 4,400 square kilometers, with the entire area located at an average elevation of 1,100 meters above sea level. It is equated to the historical Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. However, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic presently controls 8,223 square kilometers.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-09-20): Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh to Armenians, is a landlocked region in the Caucasus Mountains and lies within Azerbaijan’s borders. It is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is home to around 120,000 ethnic Armenians, who make up the majority of its population and reject Azerbaijani rule. [...] Under the Soviet Union, of which Azerbaijan and Armenia are both former members, Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan in 1923. [...] Armenia no longer disputes that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan’s territory.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-09-28): Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Roughly 120,000 ethnic Armenians were living there out of the population of a little over 140,000. Under the Soviet Union, which included both Azerbaijan and Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Karabakh declared itself an independent republic. The region came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military in a six-year war that ended in 1994 and killed about 30,000 people. Nagorno-Karabakh became de facto independent, with a self-proclaimed government in Stepanakert, but was heavily reliant on close economic, political and military support from Armenia, according to Global Conflict Tracker. [...] On Sept. 19, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive and in 24 hours ended the 35-year conflict over the territory. The self-declared government of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to capitulate and dismantle its armed forces, leading to the cease-fire.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-10-09): Before the start of hostilities on 27 September 2020, Armenia was occupying the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts on the territory of Azerbaijan. The signature of the nine-point ceasefire agreement on 9 November 2020 led to the termination of fighting between warring parties and also changed the existing territorial status quo. Under the deal, Azerbaijan regains control of all seven surrounding districts and the parts of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. Only the core of Nagorno-Karabakh region remains under the control of the Armenia-backed separatists. The Russian peacekeepers are deployed along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor; they are deployed ‘concurrently with the withdrawal of the Armenian troops’.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-09-20): What’s Nagorno-Karabakh and Why Do Azerbaijan and Armenia Fight Over It? Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have clashed repeatedly over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. During a short war in 2020, Azerbaijani forces backed by Turkey regained control of seven surrounding districts that had been occupied by Armenians since the early 1990s. Azerbaijan also took over part of Nagorno-Karabakh itself, a territory largely populated by Armenians but which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. While a truce brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin halted fighting then, energy-rich Azerbaijan and landlocked Armenia haven’t reached a final peace agreement. On Sept. 19, Azerbaijan started a military operation again to take full control of the region, halting it the next day under an agreement mediated by Russian peacekeepers. By the end of the month, more than half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population had fled to Armenia amid accusations of ethnic cleansing. Local leaders said they’d disband and hand over to Azerbaijan by Jan. 1.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict[f] is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The Nagorno-Karabakh region was entirely claimed by and partially controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, but was recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gradually re-established control over Nagorno-Karabakh region and the seven surrounding districts. [...] - ^ Using numbers provided by journalist Thomas de Waal for the area of each rayon, as well as the area of the Nagorno-Karabakh Oblast and the total area of Azerbaijan are (in km2): 1,936, Kelbajar; 1,835, Lachin; 802, Kubatly; 1,050, Jebrail; 707, Zangelan; 842, Aghdam; 462, Fizuli; 75, exclaves; totaling 7,709 km2 (2,976 sq mi) or 8.9%: De Waal. Black Garden, p. 286. [...] The Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh is one of four frozen conflicts that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Legally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan, it declared independence in 1991 and then defended that independence in a war with Azerbaijan that lasted until 1994. While it enjoys no international recognition of sovereignty, Nagorno-Karabakh has been de facto independent since its declaration and has been supported militarily and economically by neighboring Armenia.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-09-28): The territory is recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan but large areas of it have been controlled by ethnic Armenians for three decades. [...] The area designated Nagorno-Karabakh had a majority ethnic-Armenian population but was controlled by Azerbaijan. [...] Under the deal, Nagorno-Karabakh remained part of Azerbaijan, but since then it has mostly been governed by a separatist, self-declared republic, run by ethnic Armenians and backed by the Armenian government.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-03-20): In 1923, the Soviet Union established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast—home to a 95 percent ethnically Armenian population—within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Nagorno-Karabakh’s regional legislature passed a resolution in 1988 declaring its intention to join the Republic of Armenia despite its official location within Azerbaijan. Armed fighting between the two republics, which have a long history of ethnic tension, quickly followed. Amid Soviet dissolution in 1991, just as Armenia and Azerbaijan achieved statehood, Nagorno-Karabakh officially declared independence, and full-scale war erupted. The first Karabakh war, from 1988 to 1994, resulted in roughly thirty thousand casualties and created hundreds of thousands of refugees. By 1993, Armenia had gained control of Nagorno-Karabakh and occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s geographic area. In 1994, Russia brokered a ceasefire known as the Bishkek Protocol, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh de facto independent, with a self-proclaimed government in Stepanakert, but still heavily reliant on close economic, political, and military ties with Armenia.
Claim: Nagorno-Karabakh region is a territory of Azerbaijan (Nagorno-Karabakh region, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-30): The landlocked mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh was the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between Azerbaijan, in which it lies, and its ethnic Armenian majority, backed by neighbouring Armenia. [...] 1920s - After the end of World War One and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the new Soviet rulers, as part of their divide-and-rule policy in the region, established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, with an ethnic Armenian majority, within the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan. [...] 2020 - Second Karabakh war: Azerbaijan launches an offensive that recaptures territory around Karabakh. Some 3,000 Azerbaijani soldiers and 4,000 Armenian soldiers are killed in six weeks of fighting.