From Territorial Dispute to Diplomatic Partnership

Instead of a war, the two sides agreed to a "fact-finding mission" by the United Nations. In early 1970, Vittorio Winspeare Guicciardi, a UN envoy, traveled to the islands to talk to the people. He found that the overwhelming majority of Bahrainis—both Sunni and Shia—wanted a fully independent Arab state rather than becoming part of Iran.