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Trump to announce a new name for the Persian Gulf, AP reports

May 7, 2025 | | Print Article

A report that President Donald Trump intends to rename the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf has stirred up a hornet’s nest in Iran, where formerly pro-Trump Iranians have now turned against the president.

The report comes from the Associated Press, which revealed that Trump plans to announce during a trip to Saudi Arabia next week that the U.S. will hereby refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia.

This matters deeply because Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have long pushed for a renaming, whereas Iran has long sought to keep things exactly the same.

The reason the Iranians want to maintain the same name is that Persia effectively refers to them. And the reason the Arabian nations want a change is that the new name would refer to them.

Historically, the gulf has been officially known as the Persian Gulf since AT LEAST the 16th century, though the AP admits that many countries in the Middle East have long referred to it as the Arabian Gulf instead.

It’s an extremely touchy subject in Iran — formerly Persia — and has been for years, including in 2012, when Iran threatened to sue Google for not properly labeling the Gulf on its popular maps.

Here in America, meanwhile, the “U.S. military for years has unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf in statements and images it releases,” according to the AP.

Despite the U.S. military’s longtime use of the “Arabian Gulf,” Trump’s plans to formally announce a name change have prompted outrage from the Iranian people and their leaders.

“Politically motivated attempts to alter the historically established name of the Persian Gulf are indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people, and are firmly condemned,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted Wednesday.

One Iranian, strategic political affairs expert, Morteza Esmailpour, warned in a tweet that Trump would risk alienating pro-American Iranians by moving forward with this name change.

“I strongly urge you not to turn the Iranian people into your enemies or America’s,” he tweeted. “Iranians are among your closest potential allies. Please respond swiftly and publicly to clarify that the recent claims are fake, as their goal is to damage your reputation.”

“As a member of the United States Navy and a proud Iranian-American, I respectfully ask you not to fall into the political trap set by the Arab sheikhs. These are the same circles from which the 9/11 attackers emerged. American history has seen many loyal Iranian friends, and it still can,” he added.

Another Iranian, prominent international law expert Reza Nasri, added in a warning of his own that protests could erupt over a name change.

“If @realDonaldTrump were to announce that the U.S. will now refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf, it would provoke widespread protests from millions of Iranians in the diaspora, both across the United States and in front of U.S. embassies worldwide,” he tweeted.

“Nothing would more effectively unite Iranians of all political stripes against the U.S. than calling the Persian Gulf by a fake name,” he added.

See more stern responses below:

Vivek Saxena
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