Iraq summons Iran envoy over 'Persian Gulf' post, Baghdad name origins: What to know

Iraq summoned Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Mohammad Kazem al-Sadeq, on Wednesday over social media posts by an Iranian diplomatic mission as sensitivities simmer between the two countries amid ongoing tensions in the region.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral and Legal Affairs Shorsh Khalid Saeed received Sadeq on Wednesday and demanded clarification over the posts that included “maps of the region, as well as the positions and comments accompanying them, which were inconsistent with the depth of relations between the two countries.”

During the meeting, Saeed highlighted the importance of coordination to address regional disputes through diplomatic channels and dialogue.

Sadeq stressed Iran's eagerness to maintain cooperation with Iraq in various fields, “highlighting the depth of the historical and social ties between the two countries and the importance of continuing meetings and consultations on issues of mutual interest,” according to the ministry statement.

The Iranian government has not yet commented.

What happened: In the past week, Iranian officials and embassies made controversial posts involving the name of the body of water separating Iran from the Arabian Peninsula and the origin of the names of Iraq and Baghdad.

During his visit to Baghdad last Wednesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted a photograph on X of himself with a map of the region labeled the “Persian Gulf.” 

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi responded to Ghalibaf’s post the following day, putting up his own photo in front of the same map, bearing “Arabian Gulf.”

The public exchange continued as the Iranian Embassy in Kenya shared Halbousi’s post and claimed that “Iraq” is a Persian word meaning “plain” or “lowland,” and that “Baghdad” is also a Persian name meaning “God-given.”

The embassy later deleted the post in response to an online backlash.

Iran and Arab Gulf countries have been entangled in a decades-old row over the name. While the Persian Gulf is the internationally recognized name of the body of water, Gulf and other Arab governments refer to it as the “Arabian Gulf.”

The term Arabian Gulf has been used by Arab states since the rise of pan-Arabism in the 1960s. Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all border the gulf and collectively have about 3,500 kilometers (2,174 miles) of coastline along it. Iran’s coastline amounts to some 1,500 kilometers (932 miles).

In January 2023, Iran summoned Iraq's ambassador to Tehran, Nasir Abdul Mohsen Abdullah, to protest Baghdad’s use of the term “Arabian Gulf” during an Asian soccer event held in Iraq’s southern city of Basra.

Why it matters: Ghalibaf landed in Baghdad on Wednesday for a three-day visit during which he met with Iraqi officials including Halbousi to discuss bilateral relations.

Halbousi noted that Iraq was among the countries most affected by the Iran war and ensuing tensions and requested that his country receive a special status to allow its oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz to protect its economic interests.

The region has been witnessing increasing tensions since the Iran war erupted in late February and Iran began its de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway connecting the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Maritime traffic across the strait has been further disrupted by a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and vessels.

Iraq, an OPEC founding member, relies heavily on oil, which accounts for about 90% of government revenue. Before the war began on Feb. 28, the country exported around 105 million barrels of oil per month, mainly through its Basra oil terminal via Hormuz.

But Iraqi oil exports dropped significantly due to the ongoing disruptions in the strait.

Know more: Meanwhile, Baghdad has been seeking to disarm Iranian-backed militias in the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has set a Sept. 30 deadline for armed groups to fully integrate into the Iraqi state. The measure is mainly aimed at militias within the Popular Mobilization Units, a loose coalition of predominantly Shiite armed groups that are technically part of the state security forces but retain significant autonomy.

Most of Iran’s proxies in Iraq have not publicly agreed to hand over their weapons. These groups have claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against US assets in the region throughout the war in support of Iran.