Donald Trump plans to announce the United States will refer to the Persian Gulf as the “Arabian Gulf” or the “Gulf of Arabia,” according to US officials. The announcement is anticipated during an upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia.
The proposed change affects the official US government designation for the body of water located off the southern coast of Iran.
Iranian leaders immediately pushed back on the potential move. Iran’s current Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated the names of Mideast waterways should reflect "a shared respect for the collective heritage of humanity."
Araghchi further commented on the social platform X that "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."
He added that "Any short-sighted step in this connection will have no validity or legal or geographical effect, it will only bring the wrath of all Iranians from all walks of life and political persuasion in Iran, the US and across the world."
The name of the waterway has been a point of contention in the Middle East. Arab nations in the region commonly use "Arabian Gulf," while Iran maintains historical ties dating back centuries, insisting on the name Persian Gulf.
The Persian Gulf has been widely known by that name since the 16th century. However, use of "Gulf of Arabia" and "Arabian Gulf" is prevalent in several Middle Eastern countries. The US military has referred to the body of water as the Arabian Gulf in public statements for years. Details regarding the renaming plan were reported by several outlets.
A similar dispute arose during Trump’s first term when he used the name Arabian Gulf, prompting Iran’s then-president Hassan Rouhani to suggest Trump needed to study geography. Tensions surrounding the waterway and US-Iran relations have been a persistent feature in regional dynamics.
An official change by the US government does not dictate what other nations call the waterway. The International Hydrographic Organization, of which the United States is a member, works to standardize naming and charting of the world's waters, though instances exist where countries use different names in their own documentation.
The plan follows a past instance where Trump announced the US would refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
