UAE recalls ambassador to Iran over island dispute

The official news agency in the United Arab Emirates says the country has recalled its ambassador to Iran after the Iranian president visited a strategic Persian Gulf island both countries claim as part of their territory.

The state-run WAM news agency says the UAE on Thursday summoned Saif Mohammed Obaid al-Zaabi, the Gulf union's ambassador to Iran, "for consultations."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the strategic Gulf island of Abu Musa on Wednesday.

Tehran took control of tiny island and the nearby Greater and Lesser Tunb islands in 1971 after British forces left the Gulf region. The three islands dominate the approach to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes.