Member State of the Arab League An independence survey was held in the Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain during 1970.
[3] As a result, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 278 on 11 May 1970,[3] whilst in the same month Iran renounced its claim to the island.
[5] In a speech in New Delhi in 1969, the Shah commented:[5] I want to say that if the people of Bahrain do not wish to join our country we shall never resort to force, because it is against the policy of our government to use force for capturing this part of territory... Our policy and philosophy is to oppose occupation of other territories by force.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 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 United Nations Security Council.