The Iranian leadership always takes tough stance on its national and international policies and never takes U turns easily. Stance on Palestinian Issue and its Nuclear Programme are noticeable in this regard. Most recently Iran has cancelled the Islamic Solidarity Games on the issue of re naming the Persian Gulf.
According to details, the event was canceled when Saudi Arabia and other Arab states asked Iran to remove the term Persian Gulf from the medals and brochures. The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation’s team conveyed the Arab demands to their Iranian counterparts in Tehran on Tuesday. However the Iranian officials have rebuffed their proposal and talked back that it would never accept alternative names for the Persian Gulf.

Iran obviously will never retreat from its stance on the name of the Persian Gulf, “said Hasan Mirza Aghabeigi, executive secretary of the event.

Furthermore, the moderate leader and former President Muhammad Khatami said, “The Persian Gulf’s name has been deeply ingrained in the culture of every Iranian and is unalterable”. On the other hand, most Arab states have been insisting on using “The Arabian Gulf” for the water way in the Games.

The event was to be held in October this year in Iran, sports like football, volleyball, basketball, handball, swimming, water polo, archery, fencing, weightlifting and table tennis were included in it. Whatever be the name, the sports lovers from Iran and the Arab states would not be able to enjoy the event this year.