The Gulf is one, but each shore has its own story.

Amidst the folds of history and the conflicts of the present, the Gulf is contested by names, just as nations contest it. To Arabs, it is the "Arabian Gulf," and to Iranians, the "Persian Gulf." Yet, deep within, it remains a witness to the vicissitudes of time and power struggles.

With an area of ​​251,000 km² and an average depth of 50 meters, this marine arm extends from the Shatt al-Arab in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south, carrying within it riches that have made it the "global energy heart." It is surrounded by Iran and seven Arab countries, each with its own history, rights, and interests.

The Sumerians called it the "Sea of ​​the Land of God," then the "Great Sea of ​​the Sunrise," before Alexander the Great renamed it the "Persian Sea" in the fourth century BC. Among Arabs, it was called the "Gulf of Basra" and the "Gulf of Oman," and Muslim geographers such as al-Hamawi and al-Dhahabi even used both names in their writings. In the West, European maps adopted the Persian name, while the ancient Romans referred to it as the "Arabian Gulf." The Iranian narrative considers the "Persian Gulf" the only internationally recognized name, and attributes it to a national identity. They even celebrate "Persian Gulf National Day" annually.

The Arab narrative asserts that the Arabic name is ancient and reflects a demographic and geographic reality, with Arab tribes extending from both sides to the Iranian coast.

Amid this tension, US President Donald Trump officially introduced the term "Arabian Gulf," a move not without political connotations and a new seed of discord between the countries of the region and Iran. In a world where geopolitics is in conflict, names remain a tool for hegemony. However, history reminds us that seas are not owned, but shared. The sea that the Persians called "Persian" and the Arabs "Arabian" is the same sea that witnessed commercial and cultural coexistence for thousands of years.

Indeed, the multiple names for the same waterways are not an exceptional phenomenon; The English Channel, which separates France and Britain, is known in Britain as the English Channel. The same applies to the Sea of ​​Japan, which Russia calls the East Sea, and Korea calls the East Sea of ​​Korea. These examples remind us that names sometimes reflect perspective, not absolute truth, and that mutual recognition is built not on words but on understanding.

Just as different seas have had various names throughout the ages—from the Qulzum Sea to the Red Sea, from the Caspian Sea to the Caspian Sea—the Gulf, in the view of wise people, should remain a symbol of connection, not division. Instead of turning it into an arena of conflict, the countries bordering the Gulf should draw inspiration from its shared history as a path to cooperation, because wealth is protected not by rhetoric, but by wisdom.