The US president has reportedly backed off the renaming of the Persian Gulf in light of ongoing nuclear talks in Oman
US President Donald Trump has backed off a reported plan to rename the Persian Gulf, CNN wrote on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. The move was described as a concession to Iran amid ongoing nuclear talks between the two countries.
Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that Trump was planning to refer to the waterway off Iran’s southern coast as the “Arabian Gulf’ during his May 13-16 Middle East trip. However, Trump later told reporters he would “have to make a decision,” adding that he did not want to “hurt anybody’s feelings.”
The US president reversed the idea in recent days, the source said, as Tehran has signaled strong opposition to the renaming amid ongoing talks.
Washington and Tehran have held several rounds of negotiations in Oman over Iran’s nuclear program. The talks, described by both sides as constructive, have been overshadowed by rising tensions in Yemen, where the US and UK have intensified strikes against allegedly Iran-backed Houthi militants. Trump’s announcement of a bombing pause in early May was aimed at building momentum for the ongoing talks, sources told CNN at the time.
Speaking at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Trump said he wanted to “make a deal” with Iran.
Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 UN-backed nuclear deal during his first term, accusing Iran of violating the agreement – a charge Tehran denies. The Islamic Republic began scaling back its commitments after the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
The UK, Germany, and France have urged Iran to abandon its nuclear program in the coming months or face new sanctions, UK Ambassador to Israel Simon Walters said in February.
Iran has also been accused of increasing production of near-weapons-grade uranium, which it denies.
The naming of the gulf has long been a point of contention between Iran and the Arab states. Tehran insists on calling it the Persian Gulf, citing historical evidence and ancient maps linking the area to its territory. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, and others, however, refer to it as the Arabian Gulf or simply ‘the Gulf.’
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi called the renaming proposals “indicative of hostile intent toward Iran and its people.”
Trump has previously used symbolic renaming in foreign policy. In January, he signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
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