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In a move echoing his earlier controversial renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, President Donald Trump is poised to announce that the U.S. will officially refer to the Persian Gulf as the "Arabian Gulf" during his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia. This decision, reported by multiple sources, is expected to further strain diplomatic relations with Iran, which views the term "Persian Gulf" as integral to its national identity.
This initiative mirrors Trump's January 2025 executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America," a move that sparked significant domestic and international controversy. The renaming was formalized through the Gulf of America Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May 2025, mandating federal agencies to adopt the new designation in all official documents and maps.
The Gulf of America renaming faced immediate backlash from Mexico, which shares the gulf's coastline. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the unilateral decision, emphasizing the U.S. lacks the authority to rename a body of water that borders multiple nations. Sheinbaum's administration subsequently filed a lawsuit against Google for updating its maps to reflect the new name for U.S. users, arguing such changes disregard international consensus and infringe upon Mexico's sovereignty.
Similarly, the proposed renaming of the Persian Gulf is anticipated to provoke strong reactions from Iran, which has historically opposed the term "Arabian Gulf." The nomenclature of this body of water has been a longstanding point of contention, with Iran insisting on the historical and internationally recognized term "Persian Gulf," while some Arab nations prefer "Arabian Gulf." Trump's decision is likely to be perceived as aligning with Arab states, potentially exacerbating tensions in an already volatile region.
However, critics argue such actions are largely symbolic and distract from more pressing domestic and international issues. The renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, for instance, was met with widespread public opposition, with a January 2025 poll indicating that 72% of U.S. registered voters opposed the change.
