Bahrain Wants 17,000 School Books to Be Reprinted Over 'Persian Gulf' Labeling

The term "the Persian Gulf" is a political taboo in the Arab Gulf states due to the row with Iran, formerly known as Persia.

The Bahrainian authorities have ordered 17, 000 English textbooks to be reprinted over labeling water around the kingdom as "the Persian Gulf," the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported Monday.

The country's education ministry has ordered an unnamed "overseas establishment" to reprint the books for third-grade schoolchildren with "correct material to include in the book, including the Arabian Gulf map."

"The discrepancy was spotted at the time of distributing the textbooks to students… The establishment was obliged to re-print 17,000 copies of the textbook after correction of the error," a ministry official said as quoted y the agency.

Bahrain as well as other Arab Gulf states accuse Iran, formerly known as Persia, for seeking dominance in the region and insist on calling the waters between the peninsula and Iran "the Arabian Gulf," in contravention of the commonly used "the Persian Gulf."

US President Donald Trump has already enraged Iran by using the term "the Arabian Gulf," during his policy speech last October.