Iranian caricaturists challenge Trump with Persian Gulf Forever

EghtesadOnline: Iranian cartoonists have held a caricature painting exhibition in response to US President Donald Trump’s speech in which he used the fictitious name "the Arabian Gulf" to refer to the Persian Gulf.

News ID: ۷۷۹۹۴۵

23 October 2017

The 10-day exhibition, titled “The Persian Gulf Forever,” was inaugurated in the capital city of Tehran on Tuesday, displaying 55 cartoons by several caricaturists across the country, PressTV reported.

While many of the cartoons displayed at the event have been created after Trump’s remarks, the exhibition also includes earlier works as well.

In his Friday speech on strategic review of US policy on Iran, Trump called the Persian Gulf the "Arabian Gulf.” Shortly after the speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the US president to brush up on his world history and geography to improve his comprehension of international obligations and global civility, etiquette and conventions.

According to the head of the cultural center of Tehran Municipality, Masoud Shojai Tabatabaie, the cartoons will be displayed for the public on billboards across Tehran.

In an attempt to give a more extensive coverage to the initiative, the caricature paintings will also be sent to news agencies, official websites and other cultural organizations across the country, Shojai Tabatabaie pointed out.

Iran designated April 30 as 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While historical documents show that the waterway has always been referred to as the “Persian Gulf,” certain Arab states and their allies have recently mounted efforts to remove “Persian” from the name of the waterway.