Iran v. Google, Inc. – Seriously.

Uh oh. Google may have inadvertently placed itself within the cross-hairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its dictator, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  According to reports, Iran is threatening to sue Google over its labeling, or lack therof, of a body of water on Google Maps.  No, seriously.  Iran claims it will sue Google if the search engine giant does not re-label the gulf between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula known as the “Persian Gulf.”  It must be fun to be Google’s general counsel, Kent Walker.  “Hey, Kent . . . the Foreign Minster of Iran is on line 2.” How does law school prepare you for that telephone call?

The name of the body of water in dispute has long been a point of contention in the Middle East.   It is known by many names: the “Persian Gulf,” the “Arabian Gulf,” the “Islamic Gulf,” the “Arabo-Persian Gulf” and sometimes, simply, “The Gulf.”  In its mapping services, Google previously listed two names for the body of water: the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Gulf.  But it recently made a change. In what was meant to be a peace-keeping move in the naming dispute, Google removed both names from Google Maps earlier this month. Apparently, that didn’t do the trick and resolve the dispute.

Iran (formerly known as Persia) is a wee bit obsessed with this naming issue.  It previously threatened to ban airlines from using its airspace unless they refered to the body of water exclusively as the “Persian Gulf.”  Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the Associated Press that “Google had better fix things or the company will be hit with ‘serious damages’.”

A mighty strange issue, this naming dispute. But this kerfuffle is not the first time that Google has gone head to head with foreign countries. See also, China.  Then again, this stand-off is so funny that we suspect – at least somewhat – that it could be some type of publicity stunt by Sacha Baron Cohen in support of his new movie The Dictator. Hey, that could be true, right? Well, maybe.