The Persian Gulf is located in Western Asia between Iran (Persia)
and the Arabian Peninsula. It is an extension
of the Indian Ocean.
The Persian Gulf was
the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the
other's oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for
what was called the "Gulf War", despite the fact that this conflict
was primarily a land conflict, when Iraq
invaded Kuwait
and was subsequently pushed back.
The Persian Gulf has many good fishing grounds,
extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has come
under pressure from industrialization, and in particular, oil and petroleum
spills during wars in the region.
Historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water
is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian
Gulf or The Gulf by most Arab states, although neither of the latter two terms are
recognized internationally. The name Gulf
of Iran (Persian
Gulf) is used by the International Hydrographic Organization.