President Ruohani is an enigmatic fellow. He is so good at hiding his hand, that most people now have a totally different image of him than say, a couple of decades ago.
Be it that people do not follow foreign politics all that well, he is the kind of guy whose likable mug could distract from the hairiest negotiating points.
But as he is glowing from the successful nuclear agreement he just signed with major global powers, Mr. Rouhani, who is now on Twitter, has forgotten that loose tongues sink ships.
Being on Twitter may work for the Pope, but not for the premier of a theocratic state, especially if one lets loose a few historical references.
The tweet at hand is one in which Mr. Rouhani defines an area the 'Persian Gulf', while geographically the Saudis contend it is the Arabian Gulf.
One has to wonder what Mr. Rouhani's game is. If he intends to send an oblique message to the Saudis, he might just have done so.
Undeterred, the Iranians quickly responded to Saudi protests that the reason for such a moniker is firmly established in historical record. Persian Gulf it is, diplomacy be damned.
This is nothing new, however. The spat over the naming of the body of water has been going on for a while.
For the time being, the issue is not settled. Each party will continue to call it as it pleases. Cartographers will make happy one party or another depending on what they think the textbooks say.
I say, let's just call it the 'Gulf' and be done with it.
Op=Ed
Source : BBC/ 12.6.13
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