May 07, 2025
What's in a Name? Persian Gulf now Gulf of Arabia
Timothy Birdnow
Having successfully renamed the Gulf of Mexico President Donald Trump is now setting his sights on international waters with a plan to rename the Persian Gulf "the Gulf of Arabia".
Actually, that has long been an alternate name for that particular body of water. But it's been called the Persian Gulf since the 16th century by the West, despite the fact most of the Arab world calls it the Gulf of Arabia.
It's pretty clear what Trump is doing; he's erasing Iran from the books with this. This is a not-so-subtle way of pressuring Iran into making a deal; come to the table or be forgotten.
This further isolates Shiite Iran from her Sunni Muslim neighbors; it's the Sunni's in the region who want the name change. This will exacerbate the divide between the two branches of Islam, of which Iran is the predominant Shiite power.
Internationally, the official name change has to ne determined by the International Hydrographic Organization, and that seems perhaps a bit unlikely, though the U.S. is a member. But a defacto name change in the U.S. will probably wind up official in the long run.
Right now Trump needs the good will of the Arab countries in the region (Iran is not Arab) and this will buy some. Trump has plans to broker a peace deal and fundamentally remake the political atmosphere of the Middle East, and for that he needs Arab countries - particularly Saudi Arabia - on board. He needs to keep the oil flowing as the U.S. ramps up production. He needs to politically and economically isolate Iran. This helps to do all of that.
It's actually a brilliant manuever; I would never have thought of it myself.
So Gulf of Arabia it is!
Oh, by the way, Trump has the Houthis begging for a deal after he made it clear he would wipe them all out. Iran backs the Houthis, who have seriously crippled world trade by attacking shipping at the entrance to the Red Sea (and thus between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.) Trump is squeezing Iran on all fronts.
Having successfully renamed the Gulf of Mexico President Donald Trump is now setting his sights on international waters with a plan to rename the Persian Gulf "the Gulf of Arabia".
Actually, that has long been an alternate name for that particular body of water. But it's been called the Persian Gulf since the 16th century by the West, despite the fact most of the Arab world calls it the Gulf of Arabia.
It's pretty clear what Trump is doing; he's erasing Iran from the books with this. This is a not-so-subtle way of pressuring Iran into making a deal; come to the table or be forgotten.
This further isolates Shiite Iran from her Sunni Muslim neighbors; it's the Sunni's in the region who want the name change. This will exacerbate the divide between the two branches of Islam, of which Iran is the predominant Shiite power.
Internationally, the official name change has to ne determined by the International Hydrographic Organization, and that seems perhaps a bit unlikely, though the U.S. is a member. But a defacto name change in the U.S. will probably wind up official in the long run.
Right now Trump needs the good will of the Arab countries in the region (Iran is not Arab) and this will buy some. Trump has plans to broker a peace deal and fundamentally remake the political atmosphere of the Middle East, and for that he needs Arab countries - particularly Saudi Arabia - on board. He needs to keep the oil flowing as the U.S. ramps up production. He needs to politically and economically isolate Iran. This helps to do all of that.
It's actually a brilliant manuever; I would never have thought of it myself.
So Gulf of Arabia it is!
Oh, by the way, Trump has the Houthis begging for a deal after he made it clear he would wipe them all out. Iran backs the Houthis, who have seriously crippled world trade by attacking shipping at the entrance to the Red Sea (and thus between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.) Trump is squeezing Iran on all fronts.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:08 AM
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