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President Donald Trump is preparing to stir diplomatic waters during his upcoming trip to the Middle East by pushing for a controversial name change: the U.S. will now refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf.
The announcement, expected during his four-day visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, aligns with the naming preference of these Arab nations, who have long used “Arabian Gulf” to assert political distance from Iran. While the name Persian Gulf has been recognized for centuries, the regional rebrand is a symbolic jab at Tehran and one that’s likely to deepen tensions.
Iran, historically known as Persia, fiercely defends the original name and has even threatened legal action in the past. In 2012, the Iranian government took aim at Google for not labeling the body of water on its maps, seeing such omissions as erasing national heritage.
Trump hinted at a “very big announcement” earlier this week, calling it “as big as it gets” but offered no specifics. While it’s unclear if this renaming is what he meant, it would be consistent with his flair for branding and bold diplomatic gestures.
This wouldn't be the first time Trump has tried to rename major geographical features. On his first day back in office, he reignited his earlier move to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a decision that sparked a standoff with the Associated Press and is still tied up in legal disputes.
The U.S. military has already used “Arabian Gulf” in some communications, but making it official policy could complicate ongoing nuclear talks with Iran. Negotiations are expected to resume in Oman this weekend, even as Trump reaffirms his tough stance: “Iran can have success, but not a nuclear weapon,” he said in a recent interview. “The world cannot survive that.”
For Trump’s administration, the move sends a strong message of alignment with key Gulf allies—and another signal that the president is willing to rewrite not just policy, but maps.
