Iraq's ambassador to Tehran has been summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry over the name of the Persian Gulf. This was reported Wednesday by Hossein Amir Abdollahian, head of the Islamic republic's foreign ministry.
"We [Iran] summoned the Iraqi ambassador to the foreign ministry because the authorities in Baghdad used the wrong name for the Persian Gulf," IRNA news agency quoted him as saying. - "We have notified the Iraqi side that we are extremely sensitive to the need to use the exact and full name of the Persian Gulf".
Abdollahian noted that "despite its strategic and fraternal relations with Iraq," Iran was forced to openly protest the issue.
Islamic Republic Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani also condemned the incorrect, in Iran's view, name of the Persian Gulf on Monday.
Difference in terminology
Tehran's discontent was provoked by the 25th Gulf Cup that opened in Iraq on January 6; to be more precise, the championship is often called "the Arab Gulf Cup" in the Arab media space (in Arabic the Persian Gulf is called the Arab Gulf). Thus, the leader of the Iraqi Shiites Muqtada al-Sadr the day before the championship opened, on January 5, he posted on Twitter an appeal to the guests and participants of the event, which began with the words: "Dear guests from the Arab (i.e. the Persian Gulf - TASS) Gulf, we welcome you!
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani spoke more cautiously on Monday evening. On Twitter, he congratulated the national team for defeating the Saudi Arabian team in the Gulf Cup - thus the politician managed to avoid indicating which of the names of the Gulf he considers correct.
The 25th Gulf Cup involves soccer teams from eight Arab countries in the region. The sporting events are held in the city of Basra, located in southern Iraq.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS