The new Iran-Iraq war: The battle of tweets over the name of the Gulf

A tweet by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has been visiting Iraq for the last three days, ignited a storm online over the name of the Gulf whose shores are home to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman — is it the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Gulf?

Last Wednesday, the first day of Ghalibaf's visit to the neighbor — against whom it fought in the eighties — the senior Iranian official decided in the evening to upload to X a photo of himself against the backdrop of a map of the Gulf with the caption "Persian Gulf," as Iran calls it. The publication, which was uploaded while Ghalibaf was on Iraqi soil, received wide exposure and comes against the backdrop of long-standing arguments over the name of the Gulf, which Iran calls the "Persian Gulf," a name also more accepted in references by international bodies to the region. On the other hand, other countries on the shores of the Gulf advocate for the name "Arabian Gulf," against the backdrop of political tensions.

Before the post was published on Wednesday, Ghalibaf met, among others, with his Iraqi counterpart Haibat al-Halbousi. According to the official Iraqi news agency, the two held talks that focused on ways to strengthen relations between the two countries. Al-Halbousi emphasized the importance of developing cooperation between the sides in various fields, noted that Iraq is among the countries most affected by the war and developments in the region, and called on Ghalibaf to ensure that Iraq has a special status regarding oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, in a way that preserves its economic interests. According to the agency, Ghalibaf confirmed his country's commitment to strengthening cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the fields of trade and economy.

Despite the report from the meeting, which was described as "positive," after Ghalibaf's post it seems that the atmosphere changed. Yesterday (Thursday), Haibat al-Halbousi published a post on X, containing a photo of himself against the backdrop of a map of the Gulf with the caption "Arabian Gulf." After al-Halbousi's publication, the issue went viral on the networks. Some expressed support for the Iranian official, while others expressed their support for al-Halbousi. One user uploaded to X a video created using AI, of a physical confrontation between al-Halbousi and Ghalibaf, in which the Iraqi official throws his colleague to the ground against the backdrop of a map of the Gulf. The same user wrote: "Iraq of honor, pride, and Arab glory. Haibat al-Halbousi teaches Ghalibaf a lesson he will not forget, and proves that Iraq has men who understand its deep Arab roots."

A well-known Iraqi commentator wrote yesterday about the event: "Ghalibaf is still in Iraq, but he published a photo of himself without any meaning or apparent reason, except for the background — a map of the Gulf with the caption 'Persian Gulf.' Shortly after, the Iraqi Parliament Speaker published a photo of himself with a background of the Gulf and the caption 'Arabian Gulf.' Both men met officially yesterday and exchanged gifts, but the Iranian official wanted to make a point, and the response came quickly."

The unusual confrontation is taking place against the backdrop of significant tension in recent months within Iraq, and between Baghdad and Tehran. In Iraq, pro-Iranian Iraqi elements are active, and they even take part in the country's official security mechanisms. On the other side, other Iraqi elements are not interested in Iranian involvement in the country. The Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, has been trying in recent months to play and navigate between its relations with Iran and maintaining relations with the USA. Washington is interested in the disarmament of the pro-Iranian militias in the country, and even attacked together with Saudi Arabia last July centers of the Al-Hashd al-Shaabi organization (a central umbrella organization in Iraq, which is considered part of the security forces and includes pro-Iranian militias). The American demand is that the militias hand over their weapons and disconnect from the organization.

According to a report in the "New York Times," about 20 Iranian advisors were killed in that attack, some of them members of the Revolutionary Guards and some technical advisors. Iraq defined the end of September as the final date for the disarmament of the militias, the same date when the international coalition led by the USA (which was established in the framework of the war against ISIS) is expected to leave the country. Some of the militias have already announced their dissolution and the handing over of their weapons, but others refuse categorically. Iran, for its part, fears losing its hold on the country with the disarmament of the militias and the disconnection from Al-Hashd al-Shaabi. Against the backdrop of the fear, senior Iranian officials have been arriving in recent weeks for visits to Iraq, and in the Arab media in recent days, there was a report about a visit by Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Iranian Quds Force. Iran tries at every opportunity to present the deep connection, according to Iran, between Iran and Iraq, and the holding of funeral processions for Ali Khamenei in Iraq was also part of this attempt.

According to reports today, Ghalibaf met during his visit to Iraq with the families of those killed in the recent Saudi-American attacks against Al-Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq. Ghalibaf was quoted as saying: "The Axis of Resistance is stronger today than ever in dealing with global arrogance. The USA and Israel must understand that the unity of the Islamic nation, especially between the Iranian and Iraqi peoples, will never be shaken or broken."

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi addressed the issue of the disarmament of the militias today: "All political forces fully agree on the continued concentration of weapons in the hands of the state, and work is being done on mechanisms for handing over the weapons. The presence of weapons outside the control of the state will create an environment that rejects investment, and this is unacceptable and not in the interest of the Iraqis."

Meanwhile, according to an article in the Saudi "Asharq Al-Awsat," Ghalibaf discussed during his visit to Baghdad proposals for preventing a confrontation between the government and the pro-Iranian Iraqi militias, primarily the freezing or hiding of heavy weapons, when the possibility was raised of "temporarily transferring a large part of those weapons to Iran, until an arrangement is reached regarding the future of the weapons."