According to The Financial Express web site, Iran is slamming Google for naming the "Persian Gulf" the "Arabic Gulf" in its Google Earth application. That’s got the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini all worked-up, accusing Google of a "plot" against Iran.

"Raising such issues about a historically-documented and undeniable term is illegal," he said. The official characterised Google’s move as a "political ambition" while commending Iranians living in the country and overseas for sending protest e-mails to the web portal, Iranian media reports said.

The controversy evoked strong reactions across Iran with the Islamic Iran Participation Party saying that it raises suspicions that Google Earth managers and experts are "knowingly or unknowingly" following the lead of external powers aiming to provoke conflict in the region, the reports said.

While you might think the two names are interchangeable, clearly Iran doesn’t think so and even the United Nations officially refers to it as the "Persian Gulf."

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