ABSTRACT
It is perhaps too easily forgotten that Iran and the Arabian peninsula states value territory highly for its endowment in erude oil and natural gas. This diseussion will examine two eonvergent themes. First, that the Persian Gulf remains an inherently important geopolitieal zone in an international eontext beeause of the eoneentration there of a high proportion of world hydroearbon resourees. 1 Seeond, that competition for oil and gas reserves has been an important influenee on intra-Gulf relations and border arrangements sinee the British military withdrawal from its territorial base in the Gulf in 1971.2
Maritime territorial disputes, often affecting ownership of oil resourees, eontinue to eneompass both land areas, in the form of islands, and also parts of the shallow eontinental shelf of the Gulf. 3 The impetus to finalize land boundary delimitations, espeeially where they terminate on a sea coast, has often been the diseovery of substantial hydroearbon deposits in the offs hore area, as for example was the ease with the Oman - Ras alKhaimah dispute of 1977 over Bakhah-Rims on the western flank of the Musandam peninsula. This diseussion will examine the Iranian position on the exploitation of hydroearbons and diffieulties over international boundaries vis-a-vis that of the Arab states of the northeastern shore of the Arabian peninsula.
