An independence survey was held in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

island nation of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

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

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

poll on whether islanders preferred independence or

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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

United Nations involvement

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

United Nations Secretariat The United Nations Secretariat 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 agenda for the deliberative and decision-making bodi ...

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

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

'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 (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

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

U Thant Thant ( ; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 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 as well as Asian to hold the positio ...

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