The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Trump plans to announce that Washington will refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf during a trip to Saudi Arabia next week, citing two anonymous US officials.
“I think we will continue to refer to these areas the way we normally do,” Stephanie Tremblay, associate spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told Rudaw during a press briefing.
On Wednesday, Iran condemned Trump’s rumored plans to rename the Persian Gulf as “politically motivated,” stating that the name does not signify ownership by Iran.
“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. Such biased actions are an affront to all Iranians, regardless of their background or place of residence,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X.
Araghchi added that he is “confident” that Trump knows of the Persian Gulf’s history, which is “centuries old and recognized by all cartographers and international bodies,” hoping that the rumors are merely a “disinformation campaign” to anger Iranians.
In recent years, Arab nations have pushed to change the geographic name of the body of water off Iran’s southern coast, arguing for alternate terminology as they share access to its waters.
