The Consequences of ~
Constructing Artificial Islands in the Persian Gulf by the United Arab Emirates for Iran

In the past، the conflicts and struggles between states used to take place on land، and there was less conflict over marine regions. However، the perception of national interests، power and security has been transformed by the fact that seas have achieved a double function. At the beginning of the 21st century، the state of the United Arab Emirates announced that it will have constructed 325 artificial islands in the Persian Gulf waters by the next ten years. This article has set out to study this subject by addressing the question of “From the viewpoint of the geopolitics of seas as well as a futurologist’s perspective، what consequences will the UAE’s attempt to construct artificial islands on the shores of the Persian Gulf have for the Islamic Republic of Iran?” The results of this study reveal that considering the importance of Iran’s national interests and authority as a country that has the most population and shores، constructing artificial islands by the UAE in a wider scale، which has actually no counterpart in the world، will prolong the process of determining the maritime boundaries between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Arab Emirates، and will give grounds to the UAE’s claim over Abu Musa Island owned by Iran، all of which will in turn deteriorate Iran-UAE relations. Finally، due to the importance of the Persian Gulf، the construction of artificial islands will increase the presence of trans-regional powers specially the United States of America in the Persian Gulf، and increase their interference in the Arab states in the region.