Trump to announce US will call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf, officials say
FILE-Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 06, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump is set to announce next week that the U.S. will refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia.
Two U.S. officials told the Associated Press that Trump will make the announcement during his trip to Saudi Arabia next week.
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The AP noted that the White House and National Security Council did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Why is Trump advocating for the name change?
Dig deeper:
President Donald Trump can change the name for official U.S. purposes, but he can’t dictate what the rest of the world calls it.
The move comes several months after Trump said the U.S. would refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
In 2017, A disagreement occurred during Trump’s first term in office when he used the name Arabian Gulf for the waterway. Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president at the time, hinted that Trump needed to "study geography."
A history of the Persian Gulf
The backstory:
The Persian Gulf has been known by that name since the 16th century, although "Gulf of Arabia" and "Arabian Gulf" is used in many countries in the Middle East.
Arab countries have pushed for a change to the geographic name of the body of water off the southern coast of Iran. The name of the body of water has become an issue for Iranians who embrace their country’s long history as the Persian Empire.
Iran's current foreign minister addressed the matter on Wednesday, saying that names of Mideast waterways do "not imply ownership by any particular nation, but rather reflects a shared respect for the collective heritage of humanity," the Associated Press noted.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which cites comments from U.S. officials related to the name change. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.