Gerhard MercatorÕs atlas in 1578 from PtolemyÕs Geographia clearly depicting Persicus Sinus (Persian Gulf).

April 29 coincides with the National Persian Gulf Day, which is marked with various ceremonies all over Iran, especially in the Persian Gulf coastal cities.
Some regional countries in recent years have tried to attribute a false name to this ancient and strategic waterway by creating a national and international debate. While all reputable and indisputable documents contain the name Persian Gulf, Pars Sea and Fars Sea, regional Arab states have been spending huge sums of money to promote the fake “Arabian Gulf“.
Among the Arab littoral states, UAE has been the most persistent in using the forged name. This is while the tiny emirate was established about 30 years ago while Persian Gulf has a history of at least a few thousand years.
On Tuesday, a rally will be held in front of the UAE Embassy to protest the sheikdom’s ill intentions.
According to Fars News Agency, a meeting will be held on the day at Shahid Beheshti University to discuss Persian Gulf. The event’s sponsor is the Student Basij (volunteer forces).
Head of Student Basij Rahim Khanizad said, “This meeting will be attended by Pirouz Mojtahedzadeh, a well-known geographical expert and Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
According to IRNA, Kazem Mousavi, the head of Great Islamic Encyclopedia Center, said, “Arrogant world powers have tried to separate Persian Gulf from Iran by using a fake name to fulfill their ominous intentions in the region. However, they must understand that Persian Gulf is an inseparable part of Iran.“
Head of Abu Reyhan Research Center Kianoush Kiani said, “Many things have been outlined about Persian Gulf in history and geography books. The reason is that Persian Gulf is among the most sensitive strategic and geopolitical regions of the world. In fact, many archeologists and historians believe that the region is the cradle of civilizations.“
Also on Monday, deputy foreign minister for Arab affairs, Mohammad Reza Baqeri, said that based on all international documentations the name of the waterway south of Iran is Persian Gulf.
Addressing a meeting on the occasion of National Persian Gulf Day at Tehran University, he said, “About half a century ago, the plot for distorting the identity of the Persian Gulf was launched. During the reign of Jamal Abdel Nasser over Egypt, although he was a praiseworthy Arab leader and helped spread Arab nationalism, the name ’Arabian Gulf’ came to the limelight.“
He also referred to his meeting with the incumbent Kuwaiti foreign minister of 24 years ago, Sheikh Sabah, and said, “In his office I saw a map where the name Persian Gulf was used. I told me he deserves praise because of his correct move. He replied that Nasser ordered that the name Arabian Gulf should be used, but even in our elementary school books we have used the name Persian Gulf. Persian Gulf has always been Persian Gulf.“
Hamid Ahmadi, a professor of political science and international relations of Tehran University, said, “It is impossible to change the name Persian Gulf. Based on all UN documents, everybody knows Persian Gulf.“

Four children, aged one to five, their mother and a fighter were killed in Israeli operations in Gaza on Monday, as Palestinian factions prepared for talks in Egypt on a possible truce.
The siblings -- aged one, three, four and five -- were killed when a tank shell hit their home in the north Gaza town of Beit Hanun, and their mother died later of her wounds, doctors at the Kamal Radwan hospital said, AFP reported.
“I left the house just moments before to look for one of my children. I heard the sound of the explosion, and when I returned to the house I found my wife and my children,“ said 70-year-old father Ahmed Abu Maateq.
“I pray to God that the same thing that happened to me happens to whoever fired that missile at my house, that what happened to my wife and children happens to his family,“ Abu Maateq said, his eyes red with pain and anger.
Hamas lashed out at Israel, saying the strike undermined talks in Egypt aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza.

The bodies of four Palestinian children lay at a morgue in the Gaza Strip on April 28, 2008. The four children, aged one to five, their mother and a Palestinian gunman were killed during Israeli military operations.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement that the “massacre“ was part of Israel’s “constant attempts to destroy any regional or international effort to lift the siege and end the violence.“
Meanwhile, Hamas affirmed it accepts a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on the basis that the calmness would prevail in the West Bank afterwards.
Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman, said that his movement accepts “a mutual and coincident lull starting first in Gaza,“ stressing “this is our clear position and we are consulting with the factions on this issue.“
Hamas, like all other Palestinian movements, has often insisted that any ceasefire with Israel must take place simultaneously in Gaza and the West Bank, Xinhua reported.
“In this phase, the calmness is an initial and aims at lifting the siege and then preparing an internal Palestinian dialogue... we can’t engage in dialogue under the current crisis and the tight siege,“ Taha said.
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Israel stepped up attacks and tightened closure on the Gaza Strip after Hamas took over the coastal territory in June last year.
A new World Bank report released on Sunday said Gaza’s economic growth has ground to a halt and will continue to shrink unless Israel lifts its economic blockade on the beleaguered Palestinian territory.
Hamas has recently finished talks over a possible ceasefire deal with Israel with Egyptians who has been leading the efforts to broker the truce, and is waiting for Israeli responses that are expected to come through Egyptian mediators.
Representatives of Palestinian factions are in Cairo to hold further talks with Egyptian officials over the matter.

Carter: Hamas Meeting Brought Results
Former US president Jimmy on Monday his recent meetings with leaders of the Islamic group Hamas had yielded specific results, hitting back at criticism from the US and Israeli officials.
Carter blasted the US policy of boycotting and punishing political factions or governments “that refuse to accept United States mandates,“ calling it ’counterproductive’, Alalam reported.
“Through more official consultations with these outlawed leaders, it may yet be possible to revive and expedite the stalemated peace talks between Israel and its neighbors,“ Carter wrote in an opinion piece for The New York Times.
Earlier this month, Carter held two meetings in Damascus with exiled Hamas Chief Khaled Meshaal, angering both the occupying regime and the United States.
Since then, both Palestinian and Israeli officials have tried to downplay the importance of the meetings.
But Carter wrote he had received assurances that Hamas would accept any agreement negotiated by Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel “provided it is approved either in a Palestinian referendum or by an elected government.“
He added: “When the time comes, Hamas will accept the possibility of forming a nonpartisan professional government of technocrats to govern until the next elections can be held. Hamas will also disband its militia in Gaza if a nonpartisan professional security force can be formed.“
Hamas would also permit Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Palestinian activists in 2006, to send a letter to his parents, Carter added.
If Israel agreed to a list of prisoners to be exchanged, and the first group was released, Corporal Shalit would be sent to Egypt, pending the final releases, Carter added.
He said Hamas would also accept a mutual ceasefire in Gaza, with the expectation that this would later include the West Bank, and international control of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.