Trump plans to announce that the USA will call Persian Golf as an Arabic Gulf, say officials, say officials

Washington – Washington (AP) -President Donald Trump plans to be known on his trip to Saudi Arabia next week that the US will now describe the Persian Gulf as Arabian Golf or Gulf of Arabia, two US officials from the Associated Press announced on Tuesday.

The Arab nations have urged themselves to change the geographical name of the water off the south coast of Iran, while Iran maintained its historical relationships with the Golf.

The US officials talked about the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The White and National Security Council did not immediately respond to news that requested a comment.

The Persian Golf has been known under this name since the 16th century, although the use of “Gulf of Arabia” and “Arabic Golf” dominates in many countries in the Middle East. In 2012, the Iranian government – formerly Persia – threatened to sue Google about the company's decision not to mark the waters on its cards at all.

On Google Maps in the USA, the water appears as a Persian Golf (Arab Golf). Apple Maps only says the Persian Golf.

The US military unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as Arabic Gulf in statements and pictures that he publishes.

The name of the water has become an emotional topic for Iranians who accept the long history of its country as the Persian Empire. A spit developed in 2017 during Trump's first semester when he used the name Arabian Golf for the waterway. The then Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested Trump to “study geography”.

“Everyone knew that Trump's friendship was for sale to the highest bidder. We now know that his geography is also,” the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote online at that time.

Trump can change the name for official US purposes, but he cannot dictate as the rest of the world calls it.

The international hydrographic organization, in which the United States are members, ensures that all seas, oceans and navigable waters of the world are examined and specified uniformly and also named some of them. There are cases in which countries relate to the same water or landmark in their own documentation.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Trump will also visit Doha, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which are also on the body of the water. Originally planned as a Trump's first trip to overseas since he took office on January 20, Trump is trying to get closer to the golf countries because he is looking for their financial investments in the USA and is supported in regional conflicts, including the solution to the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza and the limitation of the Iranian nuclear program.

The US President also has significant financial relationships with the countries through his personal business, which he has maintained ownership from the Oval Office.

The move comes a few months after Trump said that the USA would call the Gulf of Mexico as the Golf America.

The Associated Press sued the Trump administration at the beginning of this year, after the White House had completed its journalists from most events because the organization did not follow the decision of the President to rename the Gulf of Mexico as a “Gulf of America” ​​within the United States.

The US district judge Trevor N. McFadden, a representative of President Donald Trump, decided last month that the first change protected the AP from the government's retaliation due to its word selection and ordered the access of the outlet to reinstate.

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AP authors Zeke Miller in Washington, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, Arabian Emirates and Meg Kinnard in Chapin, South Carolina, contributed to this report.