ID :
179173
Sun, 05/01/2011 - 15:12
Auther :

Legislator: Enemy Plots to Change Persian Gulf Name Doomed to Failure

TEHRAN, May 1(FNA)- A senior Iranian lawmaker condemned the attempts made by certain countries to change the name and identity of the Persian Gulf as part of Iran's territorial waters, underlining that enemy plots to change the name of the Iranian waterway are doomed to failure.
"The name of the Persian Gulf is a symbol and an element of convergence among the Iranian people," Ahmad Jabbari told reporters on Sunday.

"Those who attempt to promote a fake title for the Persian Gulf are doomed to failure and isolation," he continued.

"People of the Northern rim of the Persian Gulf believe in the Islamic Iran whole-heartedly and the enemies will not be able to change the name of the Persian Gulf through lies and conspiracies and deceiving certain Arab leaders," he added.

The remarks by the Iranian legislator came on the occasion of the 'International Festival of the Persian Gulf' in Iran.

Iran has designated April 30 as the 'National Persian Gulf Day' to highlight the fact that the waterway has been referred to by historians and ancient texts as 'Persian' since the Achaemenid Empire was established in what is now modern day Iran.

While historical documents show that the waterway has always been referred to as the 'Persian Gulf', certain Arab states have recently mounted efforts to remove 'Persian' from the name of the waterway.

In July 2009, archeological excavations in the Iranian port city of Siraf yielded new evidence confirming the antiquity of the Persian Gulf title.

The Iranian archeologists discovered Sassanid and early-Islamic residential strata as well as a number of intact amphoras used in sea trade during the Parthian, Abbasid and early Islamic eras, all referring to the waterway as the Persian Gulf.

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