TEHRAN - Iran commemorated National Persian Gulf Day during a ceremony held on Saturday on the grounds of the Portuguese Castle on Hormoz Island, which is located in the southern province of Hormozgan.

National Persian Gulf Day marks the anniversary of the expulsion of Portuguese military forces from the Strait of Hormuz in 1622, during the reign of Safavid king Shah Abbas I (1587-1629).
The Persian Gulf song was performed during the ceremony.
A large map of the Persian Gulf, which was drawn on the sand of Hormoz Island over an area of 25×25 meters, was also unveiled.
A long human chain was also formed on the shore of the Persian Gulf.
In addition, the International Persian Gulf Cultural and Arts Festival was held in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province.
A 50-meter-long flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran was also hoisted over the waterfront of the city of Bushehr as a symbol of the Iranian nation’s dignity and glory and their campaign against colonialism.
Large flags of Iran have also been unfurled in Tehran and the southern province of Fars.
Attempts to distort Persian Gulf’s name
Although there is no dispute over the official name of the Persian Gulf among geographers or at international organizations like the United Nations, certain Arab countries and a few Western states and media outlets have begun using the false names the “Arabian Gulf” and “The Gulf” for this body of water.
The Persian Gulf is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and internationally it is only recognized as the Persian Gulf.
Over the course of history, it has been called the Pars Sea, Pars Gulf, Fars Sea, Fars Gulf, or Bahre (Sea) Fars, all meaning Persian Sea or Persian Gulf.
It seems that Western officials and media outlets are not using its real name, the Persian Gulf, in order to please a certain set of prejudiced Arab leaders.
And certain regional Arab states have been taking advantage of the fact that Iran has frosty relations with the West.
Arab leaders seeking escape route through distorting Persian Gulf’s name
MP Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said that certain leaders of regional countries are attempting to find an “escape route” out of the current situation in the region through using false names for the Persian Gulf.
“The law always has the final word in international disputes, and the background to the name of the Persian Gulf does not allow anyone to distort the Persian Gulf’s name so easily,” Falahatpisheh told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday.
“Most of the islands of the Persian Gulf have always been under the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and when certain Arab rulers question this sovereignty, it will compel Iran to pursue the issue of sovereignty more seriously,” added Falahatpisheh, who is the chairman of the Majlis Foreign Policy Committee.
He went on to say that the use of a bogus name for the Persian Gulf and the questioning of Iran’s sovereignty over the three Persian Gulf islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs are parts of the hegemonistic powers’ attempts to take advantage of regional disagreements with the aim of serving their own interests and overshadowing the Islamic awakening in the region.
The United Arab Emirates has repeatedly claimed sovereignty over the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf.
Falahatpisheh said if any country attempts to invent a false name for a location, “it has flouted international conventions and the issue can be pursued through legal channels. Therefore, our diplomatic apparatus is obliged to pursue the issue of false names and unfounded allegations.”