Navy Blasted on Facebook Over Use of 'Arabian Gulf'

The United States Navy, like the Spartan kings of old, is under attack from hordes of pissed-off Persians. The Navy's Facebook page has been bombarded with angry messages in recent days from people complaining that it refers to the waters off the coast of Iran as the Arabian Gulf instead of the Persian Gulf, CNN reports. An organized online campaign appears to be behind the thousands of messages.

The Navy has started designating the pro-Iranian messages as spam and deleting them. It has posted a statement on its wall explaining that while it is "aware of the long and proud history of the Persian people," it, like other forces, uses the term Arabian Gulf in a naval context only. The Navy says its Facebook page is mainly for service members, and that people annoyed by the name it uses for the Gulf should "post your opinions to other forums better suited for this conversation." (More Facebook stories.)