- The Persian Gulf (Persian: خلیج فارس, romanized: xalij-e fârs, lit. ‘Gulf of Fars’, pronounced [xæliːdʒe fɒːɾs]), sometimes called the Arabian Gulf (Arabic: اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, romanized: Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz. The Arvand or Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline.