Dubai: Arabs should take a unified stand against Iran's attempt to force international recognition of the name of the Arabian Gulf as the Persian Gulf, Dr Mustapha Al Ani, researcher at the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai, said on Monday.
He called on the Gulf Cooperation Council to take a strong stance if the Iranian government goes ahead with its threat to impound civilian aircraft if they refer to the waterway between Iran and Arab states as the "Arabian" instead of "Persian" Gulf.
The BBC on Monday quoted Iran's transport minister, Hamid Behbahani, as saying that Iran will impound planes that fail to comply with the new naming rule set by the ministry.
Behbahani warned the airlines that they will be banned from flying into Iranian airspace unless they use the term "Persian Gulf" on their in-flight monitors.
No agreement
Dr Al Ani said the minister's statement has severed the last chance of compromise between Arabs and Iran. "It [the statement] shifted the diplomatic confrontation between Arabs and Iranians to a more hostile level," he warned.
"It is no secret that Arab countries, especially the Gulf states, have been trying to avoid confrontation on the issue by accepting the fact that there is no agreement on calling it the Arabian Gulf. The GCC itself reflects such a compromise. In 1980, debate went on for a long time before the six Arab countries agreed to name the bloc ‘The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf'.
In other words, the GCC's name meant the Arabs recognised that there is another state sharing the Gulf which is not Arab.
Games called off
Dr Al Ani said it is time to tell the Islamic republic that Arabs are serious about the issue. "Iran is taking a hostile stand against its Arab neighbours while it is under tremendous international pressure over its nuclear programme. Arabs should not allow more compromises," Dr Al Ani added.
The last time the name became an issue was when Iran insisted on referring to the Gulf as Persian on the map engraved on the medals of the Islamic Solidarity Games that were to be held in Tehran in April. The Saudi-based Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation called off the games.
