The historical, geographical and commercial position of the Persian Gulf, a place for all living civilizations to live and interact, makes it special to celebrate a day for; a day for all the Iranians to have a short opportunity to defend the historical and authentic truth of the Persian Gulf. This day is the anniversary of forcing out the Portuguese navy of the Strait of Hormuz in the Capture of Ormuz.
The Persian Gulf is a valuable treasure, containing half of the world’s oil reserves, with a unique geographical location that profiteers are always plotting to dominate this regional and global economic highway. In the shadow of national determination, the name of the Persian Gulf as a symbol of peace and friendship will forever shine on the history of Iran; a precious heritage which brings tourism development, economic prosperity and long-term benefits for us.
Geographical Position and Naming Issue: The Persian Gulf is the name of an important waterway in West Asia and the Middle East, located along the Sea of Oman between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. The Persian Gulf has an area of about 241,000 square kilometers. It runs east through the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman to the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, and west to the Arvand River Delta, which joins the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and joins the Karun River.
While today some regional and western countries are making extensive efforts to use and establish a fake name (Arab Gulf) for the Persian Gulf in international meetings and forums, which lacks historical citations and logical arguments the United Nations has stated that it does not know any other name other than the Persian Gulf title.
Importance of Persian Gulf for Iran’s national security: The Persian Gulf, as a water and sea route, has been of great value since the dawn of history and has a history of several thousand years as a clash of ancient civilizations. The most important thing that has made the Persian Gulf extremely significant is the existence of natural resources, especially oil, so that the name of the Persian Gulf has become equal to oil.
A major factor that makes the Persian Gulf oil and gas so vital to the United States, Western Europe, and Japan is the great difficulty in replacing the region’s imported oil and gas with resources. The importance of the Persian Gulf for other countries is mainly due to these factors:
The Persian Gulf region has the one of the largest oil reserves.
The Persian Gulf is strategically a continuation of the Indian Ocean.
The wheel of western industry depends on the security of oil transit in this region.
The Persian Gulf offers a unique model of a geopolitical region among the regions that exist in the part known as the Middle East, as separate and distinct geopolitical regions. The region includes nations that are culturally diverse but coordinated politically, strategically, and economically. The region includes Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. Pakistan also has many interests in the region due to its geographical proximity and extensive trade exchange, and it can be considered as a continuation of the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf.
Hormuz Peace Initiative: Iran has long supported the establishment of a regional dialogue forum. The “Hormoz Peace Initiative” which the Islamic Republic of Iran launched in September 1998 to establish peace between the coastal countries of the Persian Gulf, is still considered by experts to be the most practical plan for maintaining stability and peace in the region.
This plan is based on the joint efforts of the coastal countries of the Persian Gulf with the aim of ending the presence of foreign forces in this important and strategic water area and its achievement is to create peace and stability in the Persian Gulf and economic progress and prosperity for the region. This plan is also called the “Coalition of Hope”.
The Hormoz Peace Initiative is based on the principles of respect for territorial sovereignty, peaceful coexistence, good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries. With this plan, the Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates the need for the cooperation of all countries in the region and the promotion of multilateralism and mutual trust in order to maintain peace, tranquility and security in the region.