President Donald Trump reportedly plans to announce during his upcoming trip to the Middle East that the United States will no longer recognize the Persian Gulf, instead renaming it as the "Arabian Gulf."
Unlike his proclamation to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America," which he has tried to enforce by banning news organizations that won't use the term from the briefing room, or his push to revert military bases back to names honoring Confederate generals, this change has some external geopolitical significance as the other Arab states bordering the Gulf have themselves been pushing for such a name change to be recognized.
But the report triggered a reaction of rage on social media, both from inside Iran and from Iranians living in the West.
"The name Persian Gulf, like many geographical designations, is deeply rooted in human history. Iran has never objected to the use of names such as the Sea of Oman, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, or Red Sea," wrote Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
"The use of these names does not imply ownership by any particular nation, but rather reflects a shared respect for the collective heritage of humanity. In contrast, 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 went on to warn America that decreeing a name change would "only bring the wrath of all Iranians from all walks of life and political persuasion in Iran, the U.S. and across the world."
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"Not joking when I say that even if Trump bombed the nuclear plant at Natanz he would probably upset a smaller cross-section of Iranians than he would by renaming the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf," wrote The Economist Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom.
"Trump called the Gulf of Mexico the 'Gulf of America.' Now he’s trying to rename the Persian Gulf the 'Arabian Gulf,'" wrote Iranian-Canadian human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay. "He can spin words and rename bodies of water for political and economic gain but he can’t rewrite 2,500 years of history. It’s the Persian Gulf, and always will be."
Shortly after news of the name change broke, Trump downplayed the idea that such a decision had already been made, telling reporters in the Oval Office he was still considering the matter and "I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings."
"Apparently, the president thinks Iranians’ feelings might get hurt," wrote Iranian-American Washington Institute senior fellow Holly Dagres.
"Arabian Gulf or Persian Gulf, call it what you want. It’s still the most militarized gulf on this planet," wrote Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, the founder of Ideas Beyond Borders. "Maybe, we should fix that first?"
