Trump mulls renaming Persian Gulf as Gulf of Arabia

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on May 7, 2025

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President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s considering trying to change the name of the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Arabia or the Arabian Gulf.

Trump said he’s going to make a final decision on the issue after a briefing by advisers and before leaving on a three-day trip to the Middle East next week.

“They’re going to ask me about that when I get there and I’ll have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at an unrelated White House event.

The Associated Press reported that Trump would announce the U.S. is making the change, citing two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Any effort to rename the body of water would likely deeply anger Iran, which was historically called Persia, and perhaps other Middle Eastern states as well.

It could also throw a monkey wrench into sensitive talks between the U.S. and Tehran over its nuclear program.

“Politically motivated attempts to alter the historically established name of the Persian Gulf are indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people, and are firmly condemned,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media. “It will only bring the wrath of all Iranians from all walks of life and political persuasion in Iran, the U.S. and across the world.”

The Persian Gulf has been widely known by that name since the 16th century, although usage of “Gulf of Arabia” and “Arabian Gulf” is common in many countries in the Middle East. The U.S. military for years has unilaterally referred to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf.

Trump can change the name that the U.S. uses to refer to the gulf, which separates Iran from Saudi Arabia and other state, but he can’t dictate what the rest of the world calls it.

The International Hydrographic Organization is mandated with ensuring all the world’s seas, oceans and navigable waters are surveyed and charted uniformly

The move comes as Trump seeks to bolster ties with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in the Gulf region, which are Sunni Muslim nations and strong historic rivals to Shia Muslim Iran.

Trump plans to leave Monday on the trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He is reportedly considering adding a stop in Israel.

The decision comes months after Trump proclaimed that the U.S. would refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He has sought to force news outlets to also use his preferred name and Republicans in Congress are seeking to pass a law enforcing that switch.

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