An independence survey was held in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

island nation of

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

during 1970. The survey (sometimes referred to as "referendum"), took the form of a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

poll on whether islanders preferred independence or

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian control. The report of the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General on the consultation stated that "the overwhelming majority of the people of Bahrain wish to gain recognition of their identity in a full independent and sovereign State free to decide for itself its relations with other States".The Question of Bahrain
United Nations As a result, the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

unanimously passed Resolution 278 on 11 May 1970, whilst in the same month Iran renounced its claim to the island.Bahrain profile
BBC News The country subsequently became independent from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in August 1971.Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
CRS Report for Congress

United Nations involvement

In 1969, both the British and Iranian governments agreed to approach the

United Nations Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat (french: link=no, Secrétariat des Nations unies) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), The secretariat is the UN's executive arm. The secretariat has an important role in setting the a ...

to resolve the dispute of Bahrain's sovereignty. Despite British claims that UN involvement was their initiative, evidence suggests that the

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

's desire to end territorial disputes with the British prior to their withdrawal from the Persian Gulf in 1971, was the main reason for this. In a speech in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

in 1969, the Shah commented: In early 1970, the Iranian government asked the UN general secretary to assess the will of the Bahraini people with regards to their sovereignty. UN Secretary General

U Thant Thant (; ; January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position. He held t ...

accepted the task on 20 March 1970 and designated Signor Vittorio Winspeare Guicciardi, the director-general of the UN Geneva office, as his personal envoy in Bahrain during the mission. Both British and Iranian governments stated they would accept the results of the survey provided it was approved by the

. The UN mission started on 30 March 1970 and lasted two weeks, resulting in the publication of UN Document Number 9772. Paragraph 57 of Signor Guicciardi's report on Bahrain stated "the results of the investigation have convinced me that the overwhelming majority of the people of Bahrain are in favour of their territory being officially recognised as an independent country of complete sovereignty, with the freedom of determining their relation with other nations". The report was distributed amongst the Security Council and the

unanimously passed Resolution 278 on 11 May 1970. The UN report and resolution were debated and accepted in both the lower and upper houses of Iranian parliament by 14 May 1970, renouncing their claim to Bahrain. The British revoked its special agreements with Bahrain in August 1971, allowing Bahrain to subsequently declare independence. On 29 August 1971, Bahrain and Iran established diplomatic ties.

References

{{Bahraini elections Bahraini independence survey Referendums in Bahrain Independence survey

Bahrain–United Kingdom relations Bahrain–Iran relations