Trump administration to announce U.S. will call Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf during Middle East visit: Report

DUBAI, Unites Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump’s administration reportedly plans to announce that the U.S. will formally call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia, a transfer that may be welcomed by Arab Gulf leaders and sure draw anger from Iran.

The event was reported by The Related Press, citing two unnamed U.S. officers, and is ready to be timed for Trump’s Middle East go to on Could 13 to 16, during which era he will make stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The title of the physique of water — a significant delivery lane sitting between Iran’s southern coast and the coastlines of Arab international locations Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar — has lengthy been some extent of rivalry, with a number of Arab states having spent years pushing for a change from Persian to Arabian Gulf. The realm has been most generally referred to as the Persian Gulf since roughly the 1700s, although it is referred to as the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Arabia in lots of Arab international locations.

U.S. Central Command in its publications and statements makes use of the title Gulf of Arabia, whereas the State Division and CIA have to this point used Persian Gulf.

Google maps labels the area “Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf),” whereas Apple Maps and main U.S. information retailers, together with NBC Information and The Related Press, call it the Persian Gulf.

Iran, residence of the former Persian empire, threatened in 2012 to sue Google for not naming the physique of water altogether on its maps.

The White Home didn’t instantly reply to a CNBC request for remark. The Trump administration has been engaged in oblique talks with Iranian officers over Iran’s nuclear program.