Iran Holds 2nd Day Of PG Confab In Abu Musa

Tehran, May 1, IRNA – Iran celebrated the second day of the Third Persian Gulf Conference in Abu Musa Island Monday. Local officials attended the ceremony in Abu Musa Island to celebrate the National Iranian Day of Persian Gulf. The third biennial international conference on the Persian Gulf opened in two universities in Tehran and Hormozgan Provinces on Sunday. The conference focused on the environmental concerns and Iran's ownership rights to the Persian Gulf. The conference, which is held every two years, was attended by the researchers, scholars and specialists from the United States, China, France, Britain and Persian Gulf littoral countries. Trade exchanges in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, immigration to the Persian Gulf islands, the presence of big powers in the Persian Gulf, archeological findings in the Persian Gulf, the Persian Gulf's stand in the cultural and trade relations among regional states…and shifting trade hubs in the Persian Gulf were the most important topics of the conference. 300 papers were sent to the secretariat of the conference, of which 100 were chosen through review for presentation. Oral presentations accounted for 70 of these papers and the remaining were presented as posters. Foreign theorists and researchers have also sent 15 papers to the event. The conference was sponsored by the University of Tehran in cooperation with Tehran Municipality, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and Hormozgan University. National Persian Gulf Day marks the anniversary of the expulsion of Portuguese military forces from the Strait of Hormuz in 1622, during the reign of Safavid king Shah Abbas I (1587-1629). On Sunday morning, naval warships and vessels took part in a symbolic parade off the Persian Gulf coast to mark the occasion. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi sent a message to the ceremony, in which he said that the Persian Gulf is as old as the history of Iran and is the only international name that has been used for the body of water over the course of history. He also said, “The Persian Gulf region is the home of all of us, and the nations on its southern and northern shores are permanent inhabitants and inevitable neighbors, and should accept that facts of geography and proximity are unchangeable and that peaceful and brotherly coexistence is an undeniable necessity.” Although there is no dispute over the official name of the Persian Gulf among geographers or at international organizations like the United Nations, certain Arab countries and a few Western states and media outlets have begun using the false names the “Arabian Gulf” or “The Gulf” for this body of water. The Persian Gulf is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Historically and internationally it is only recognized as the Persian Gulf. Over the course of history, it has been called the Pars Sea, Pars Gulf, Fars Sea, Fars Gulf, or Bahre (Sea) Fars, all meaning Persian Sea or Persian Gulf. It seems that Western officials and media outlets are not using its real name, the Persian Gulf, in order to please a certain set of prejudiced Arab leaders. And certain regional Arab states have been taking advantage of the fact that Iran has frosty relations with the West./end