TEHRAN – Iran commemorated National Persian Gulf Day during a ceremony held on Sunday in the southern city of Bushehr, on the shores of the Persian Gulf. 

 

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). 

 

On Sunday morning, naval warships and vessels took part in a symbolic parade off the Persian Gulf coast to mark the occasion. 

 

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi sent a message to the ceremony, in which he said that the Persian Gulf is as old as the history of Iran and is the only international name that has been used for the body of water over the course of history. 

 

He also said, “The Persian Gulf region is the home of all of us, and the nations on its southern and northern shores are permanent inhabitants and inevitable neighbors, and should accept that facts of geography and proximity are unchangeable and that peaceful and brotherly coexistence is an undeniable necessity.”

 

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” or “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.