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Iran threatens legal action against Google

TEHRAN — Iran on Thursday threatened legal action against Google after becoming angered by the US internet giant’s choice of names on its mapping software.

The name of the patch of water between Iran and the Arabian peninsula is a contentious issue, with Shiite Iran insisting it is the “Persian Gulf.”

Sunni Muslim Arab states across the water call it the “Arabian Gulf,” or just the “Gulf,” and Google opts to keep it nameless on its maps.

“Omitting the name Persian Gulf is [like] playing with the feelings and realities of the Iranian nation,” foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by Iran’s official Press TV.

He added, “Toying with modern technologies in political issues is among the new measures by the enemies against Iran, [and] in this regard, Google has been treated as a plaything.”

The spokesman warned that Tehran would take legal action should Google to continue failing to refer to the water as the “Persian Gulf.”

Iran routinely lashes out at what it sees as the incorrect naming of the waters.

In 2010, it warned that airlines using the term “Arabian Gulf” on in-flight monitors would be barred from Iranian airspace, AFP reported.