London, May 31, IRNA-An international conference on the United Arab Emirates and the three Iranian islands, organized by the Institut International d'Etudes Strategiques de Paris (IRIS), opened in London Wednesday.

An exhibition of Persian Gulf geographical and historical maps by both Western and Muslim cartographers were also being shown together with accompanying documents.

The conference, the first of its kind in the UK, is putting into context attempts to orchestrate disputed claims over the Iranian islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs following the ending of British military occupation in the Persian Gulf in 1973.

By way of introduction, IRIS President Ali Rastbeen, who is also a leading ambassador of the Inter-religious and International Federation of World Peace, presented an overall view of the subjects.

Strategic and military aspects of the Persian Gulf are being discussed by General Henri Paris, president of Democraties France, while a professor of international politics from the American University of Paris spoke of Persian Gulf territorial and energy disputes.

Mohamed Said al-Shahabi from the Persian Gulf Culture Club in London also put into context regional border disputes while presenting alternative perspectives.

Professor of International Relations Steven Ekovich, also from the American University of Paris, is presenting the complex subject of American policies in the Persian Gulf.

Later in the day, the issue of economic relations between the UAE and Iran will be raised by an IRIS associate, Thierry Coville.

Hilde Rapp, co-director of the Center for International Peace- Building, is presenting a paper on `Iran: Towards a new context for regional and global security'.

Christophe Reveillard, reader in geo-politics at the University of Paris in Sorbonne and director of the geo-politics department at the College Interarmes de Defense at Military School will speak on the topic `Emirates Geo-political Vision of the Persian Gulf.' Before closing the one-day conference, professor of geo-politics and chairman of the London-based Urosevic Research Foundation, Dr Pirouz Mojtahedzadeh, will look at some of the more recently propagated UAE arguments.