Kuwaiti Ambassador: ‘it’s the Persian Gulf’ 20, February 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Iraq, Kuwait, Middle East, The Gulf.Tags: Arab-Persian relations, Arabian Gulf, Iran, Kuwait, Persian Gulf
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Kuwait’s Ambassador to Iran recently told the Iranian news agency Mehr that the body of water between Arabs and Persians is and always will be called the ‘Persian Gulf’. This is quite an admission from an Arab Ambassador. Typically, Arabs call the body of water the Arabian Gulf whereas Iranians fall back on centuries of customary law and modern-day international law and call it the Persian Gulf. Recently an Iraqi politician suggested that the water ought to be called the Gulf of Basra, just to complicate things further. Angry spats frequently develop over the naming of this body of water. Indeed, ironically the Islamic Solidarity Games were recently cancelled because of arguments over just this issue. It is unlikely that this Ambassador’s comments will make him many friends on his side of the Gulf.
Hat tip: the ever reliable MEMRI
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