DUBAI – An Iranian official has called for Gulf Air to be punished for not referring to the waterway that separates it from its Arab neighbours as the Persian Gulf, Dubai-based daily Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Hussain Qasimi, mayor of southwestern Iranian city of Shiraz, demanded government action against the Bahraini national carrier, saying passengers from the city were upset with the airline for not referring to the waterway by its internationally recognised name, the newspaper said.

Designation of the key waterway for global oil and gas supplies has long been a touchy issue among the countries bordering it – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq and Iran.

Iran insists that the body of water had historically been known as the Persian Gulf, while the Arab states say it is the Arabian Gulf. Internationally the waterway is referred to as the Persian Gulf.

Iran in February threatened to ban airlines from using its airspace if they referred to the waterway as the Arabian instead of Persian Gulf.

The Saudi-based Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation in January scrapped the Islamic Solidarity Games which were to be held in Iran in April because of the dispute over the name of the waterway.

Source: business.maktoob.com