Trump administration to announce U.S. will call Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf during Middle East visit: Report

Trump administration to announce U.S. will call Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf during Middle East visit: Report


Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

Stocktrek | Photodisc | Getty Images

DUBAI, Unites Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump’s administration reportedly plans to announce that the U.S. will officially call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf or Gulf of Arabia, a move that would be welcomed by Arab Gulf leaders and likely draw anger from Iran.

The development was reported by The Associated Press, citing two unnamed U.S. officials, and is set to be timed for Trump’s Middle East visit on May 13 to 16, during which time he will make stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The name of the body of water — a major shipping lane sitting between Iran’s southern coast and the coastlines of Arab countries Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar — has long been a point of contention, with several Arab states having spent years pushing for a change from Persian to Arabian Gulf. The area has been most widely called the Persian Gulf since roughly the 1700s, though it’s referred to as the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Arabia in many Arab countries.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

Google maps labels the region “Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf),” while Apple Maps and major U.S. news outlets, including NBC News and The Associated Press, call it the Persian Gulf.

U.S. Central Command in its publications and statements uses the name Gulf of Arabia, while the State Department and CIA have used Persian Gulf.

Iran, home of the former Persian empire, threatened in 2012 to sue Google for not naming the body of water altogether on its maps.

The White House did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. The Trump administration has been engaged in indirect talks with Iranian officials over Iran’s nuclear program.



Source

Trump to Congress: ‘NO ONE GOES ON VACATION’ until spending bill passes
Politics

Trump to Congress: ‘NO ONE GOES ON VACATION’ until spending bill passes

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on June 24, 2025, to attend the NATO’s Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague. Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Tuesday ramped up his […]

Read More
Trump judge nominee told DOJ lawyers to ignore court orders on deportations: whistleblower
Politics

Trump judge nominee told DOJ lawyers to ignore court orders on deportations: whistleblower

Attorney Emil Bove looks on as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump appears remotely for a sentencing hearing in front of New York State Judge Juan Merchan in the criminal case in which he was convicted in 2024 on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, at New York Criminal Court in Manhattan in New […]

Read More
House Speaker Johnson argues the War Powers Act is unconstitutional
Politics

House Speaker Johnson argues the War Powers Act is unconstitutional

Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during his weekly press conference at the US Capitol on June 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., argued Tuesday that the War Powers Act, a Nixon-era law limiting the president’s power to unilaterally wage war, is unconstitutional, […]

Read More