As noted during his stay in the area, President Trump cleverly tinkered with geographical names and abandoned the ostensibly preliminary idea of using different names for the Persian Gulf. The Associated Press report pointing to this unforeseen situation stimulated emotional responses from various life-long journeys among Iranians.
Had President Trump gone through the reported plans, he would have deviated from the traditional and formal policy on Gulf nomenclature, which had honoured the name of the Persian Gulf since the US’s founding. It would also violate the norms and principles governing the standardization of geographic names and the consensus resolution of the UN Conference on standardization of geographic names.
Below we explain how deeply rooted the names of the Persian Gulf are in the traditions of American name standardization and foreign policy traditions.
The term “Persian Gulf” adopted by US specialized agencies
The United States became the first government to establish an office commissioned to standardize geographical and manager names. Created in 1890, the US Geographic Names Commission (USBGN) was the first national institution “to address contradictions and contradictions between many names, applications and spells.” government. Official US agencies, including diplomacy, intelligence reporting agencies and military agencies, rely on USBGN precisely name (p. 58).
Based on the agency’s recommendation, the policy was always to “cooperate as much as possible” with foreign governments to use local names in traditional English “optional use” name (p. 61). All US sectors generally need to use the correct place names in communications with foreign governments, so they also rely on names jointly determined by USBGN and the state. Department (p.125). The “Persikos Kolpos” (Persian Gulf) is the oldest Toponnim in the waters and was first used around 500 BC. Hecataeus (p. 39), a Greek geographer and historian, remained the only universally used term until the political challenges that came from pan-Arabism in the 1960s. The designation has been approved for use by the US government since the decision was made by the USBGN and the State Department’s (DOS) Committee on Geographical Nominals (DOS) in 1917.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is another professional US federal agency that is part of the US Department of Defense (DOD) and is a component of the US Intelligence Reporting Community. There is a similar policy regarding the name “Persian Gulf.” The NGA generates maps and charts for air and ocean voyages, primarily for the purposes of the US military. We produce map creation and related products that cover the entire area world.
The NGA maintains a server, the NGA Geonet Name Server (GNS). This is the official repository of standard spelling of all foreign place names approved by the Geographic Name Committee. The GNS lists “Persian Gulf” as the only “traditional” name for the waters in question. A website with information in its name indicates that the geographical name of this database is provided for federal guidance and use and public information. public‘.
‘Sailing direction pub. 172 The Red Sea and the Persian Gulf are publications by the NGA. It covers the water stretch from the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea to the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. Sections 13-17 of this work show the various parts of the Persian Gulf beginning with “the Strait of Hormuz and the Entrance to the Persian Gulf” and “The Persian Gulf – Iran – Shattar to the Bucher.”Arab‘.
Based on the USBGN and GNS perceptions of the term “Persian Gulf” regarding US government use, and for years, all US agencies recognize the term “Persian Gulf” in principle. In fact, it was a sticking-up of all US agents, media and others to the unwavering. Therefore, the “Persian Gulf” has been the official term of the United States since 1917, and there is no logical reason to change it, except for the rather gesture calculated to plague the Iranians, in the absence of an explanation from the US government.
US Navy swings with the term “Persian Gulf”
They began referring to the Gulf in September 1987 in an official statement as the “Arabian Gulf” as they were reflecting and escorting Kuwait oil tankers during the “Tanker War” towards the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1987. At the time, a DOD spokesman said, “This usage was adopted out of respect for many Arabs. country‘.
There are also indications that the more the “Cold War” begins between Tehran and Washington, the more likely American officials are to distance themselves from the outdated perception of the term “Persian Gulf.” Increasingly they have used this issue to put more pressure on Iran in parallel with the increased sanctions.
During the Persian Gulf War between 1991 and 2, “Persian Gulf” was often headlined. Although it has been in use for many years, the US naval commanders in the region began to shake up the nomenclature of the Persian Gulf, mainly during the Iraq War, along with the rights of military bases the United States received from several Persian Gulf Arab countries. As the Los Angeles Times stated at the time, “It began with some U.S. Navy officials using the “Arabian Gulf” in honor of the Arab partners of the Multinational Union against Iraq. term. ‘At the same time, they asked to change their nameArabian Gulf‘. (p. 60) This request was intended to soften Arab partners and military base providers.
This request was placed before the USBGN Foreign Name Committee and carefully studied the issue. However, in this situation, no matter how interesting it may be, he was refused. One argument, which has always been a major principle of USBGN, emphasized that “no country can change the traditional name of a character whose territory is beyond the sovereignty of a single state.” Another argument for change was “the existence of nearby waters has already been named.”Arabian Sea‘ (p. 60).
A US Navy spokesman working on Iranian protest reads: Other respects (for example, nautical charts and publications) The historic names of the Persian Gulf value and respect the partners they serve all over the world. people. ”
A review of the literature produced by DOS shows that the official remains, and perhaps instinctively, to remain faithful to terminology that has been familiar to many years since school and college. Despite the official positions regarding the use of the term “Persian Gulf” in the State Department and the White House, in certain circumstances, different terms are used to address different audiences.
Parliament and the “Persian Gulf”
The US Congress uniformly uses the name “Persian Gulf” in laws such as the Persian Gulf Dispute Educational Equity Act, which was adopted on February 5, 1991. Another adoption law defines “veterans of the Persian Gulf” as “veterans serving in military, naval or aviation services active in the Southwest Asian theatre.”
We may conclude that the “Persian Gulf” remains an official name recognized by official US institutions and US academic, media and cultural institutions. The US Navy’s position regarding the use of the term and the contradictions presented by the DOS appear to be due to worsening relations with Iran. This situation allowed supporters of the “Arabian Gulf” to find a more receptive audience among various US administrations, especially when it involves the issues of US military stationed in Arab soils.
Kourosh Ahmadi is a former diplomat and author of the Persian Gulf naming: The Roots of Political Controversy, Ithaca Publishing, London, 2017