Iran summons Iraq envoy to protest ‘Arabian Gulf’ Cup

Iran yesterday summoned the Iraqi Ambassador to Iran, Naseer Abdul Mohsen, to protest Baghdad’s use of the term “Arabian Gulf Cup” for the regional football tournament which is ongoing, saying it should be referred to as the “Persian Gulf”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian said Abdul Mohsen has been summoned over the Iraqi authorities’ use of the term Arabian Gulf while it hosts the 25th edition of the Arab Gulf Football Championship, Khaleeji 25, in the city of Basra, IRNA news agency reported.

Abdollahian considered the term “false”, noting that Tehran had conveyed to the Iraqi side “the sensitivity of the great Iranian people towards the use of the precise and complete term for the Persian Gulf.”

“Despite the strategic, fraternal and deep relations with Iraq, we have conveyed our protest publicly regarding this issue,” he added.

Abdollahian noted that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani corrected this issue in a social media post where he referred to the tournament as the “Gulf Cup”.

READ: Iran calls on Iraq to apologise over ‘Arabian Gulf’ Cup