In a surprise move that came to light late Tuesday, President Donald Trump will announce renaming the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia in U.S. geographical nomenclature.
Two officials confirmed the move, which is likely intended to shake up geopolitical relations in the Middle East, to the Associated Press.
While the body of water has been broadly known as the Persian Gulf since the 16th century, many Middle Eastern countries, particularly Sunni Arab states, have pushed for it to be renamed.
Many of those states already use either “Gulf of Arabia” or “Arabian Gulf” to refer to the body of water.
Iran, meanwhile, has taken umbrage to any attempt to change it from the country’s former name, Persia — even suing Google in 2012 over the company’s refusal to name the body of water, period, in its Google Maps application.
The Google Maps app now refers to it as the “Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf).” The U.S. military, meanwhile, has used “Arabian Gulf” in statements and images for some time.
However, officially calling it the Arabian Gulf has been a bridge the United States has yet to cross — although Trump suggested perhaps doing so in 2017.
At that time, now-former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Trump needed to “study geography.”
As the New York Post noted, Trump had referred to the fact that he was going to make an “earth-shattering” announcement during his Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Do you support Trump’s latest renaming?
“We have a big announcement to make, not about trade but something else but it’s going to be a truly earth shattering and a positive development for this country and for the people of this country,” he said.
President Trump: “We have a big announcement to make, not about trade but something else but it’s going to be a truly earth shattering and a positive development for this country and for the people of this country.” pic.twitter.com/pZLS3bnszW
— America (@america) May 6, 2025
It’s unclear whether the renaming is what Trump was referring to when he made that statement.
As of Tuesday night, both the White House and the National Security Council hadn’t responded to media requests for comment.
Technically speaking, the move doesn’t necessarily make a difference for how the body of water is referred to officially; that’s determined by the International Hydrographic Organization, of which the United States is a member, which, as the AP notes, “works to ensure all the world’s seas, oceans and navigable waters are surveyed and charted uniformly, and also names some of them.”
However, a move by the United States to call it the Arabian Gulf — in addition to putting more diplomatic pressure on Tehran — could spur a discussion within the International Hydrographic Organization about the name.
This move also comes as Trump is about to visit several Arab countries on the body of water, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, during a diplomatic mission to secure financial investment in the United States. It’s unclear whether the naming convention of the gulf will be on the agenda.
Trump has faced similar diplomatic headwinds over his decision to officially refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, which drew rebukes from the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
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