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Iranian divers freed by UAE
Twelve seized divers are released ahead of Iranian president's visit to Abu Dhabi.
Last Modified: 12 May 2007 13:13 GMT

The United  Arab Emirates has released 12 Iranian divers arrested in Gulf waters,  Iran's ISNA news agency has reported ahead of a visit to Abu Dhabi by the Iranian president.

 

The UAE had said on Wednesday it had decided to release the 12 on the occasion of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit, which starts on Sunday.

The divers were detained on May 1 while working on a sunken ship 18 nautical miles off the disputed Abu Musa island in Gulf waters.

  

Abu Musa and the islands of Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb are the  centre of a maritime dispute between the UAE and Iran.

  

The islands were seized by Tehran after British forces left the Gulf region in 1971 but are claimed by Abu Dhabi.

  

Disputes over the islands have in the past strained relations between the two countries which nonetheless maintain robust links, especially in trade.

  

Ahmadinejad's trip to the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi will be the first by an Iranian president to the UAE since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Source:
Agencies
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