[Al Arabiya Latest] The display of the Arab name of the Iranian city of Abadan on the in-plane screens of Qatari Airways sparked wide protests and triggered incriminations of alleged historical frauds.Iranians accused Qatar of tampering with history by discarding the Persian name of the southwestern city of Abadan and using instead the Arab one on the screen maps the carrier uses for showing passengers where they are , the Iranian news website Tabnak reported.
Abadan is located in the Khuzestan province, which has a predominantly Arab population, also called Ahwazis. The province is also called Arabistan.
The website, owned by the former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, added that this action raises questions about the intentions of Qatar, especially that this same name was used by "enemies of the Islamic republic" like Saddam Hussein and Arab-Iranian separatists.
"This is proof of Qatar's sinister intentions against the safety of Iran," added Tabnak, which is one of the most widely-read websites in Iran.
The website said the Arabs colonized Iran and stated that, contrary to Arab claims, it is the Arabs who changed names of cities in order to wipe out the Persian identity.
"Now the Iranian government and people are determined to get back their national identity and it was normal to start referring to cities with their original names."