WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Reza Pahlavi of Iran was received, on Friday, December 3rd, by John M. Fahey, Jr., President and CEO, of the National Geographic Society for the purpose of bringing clarity to the issue of National Geographic's recent usage of a secondary name (Arabian Gulf) for the Persian Gulf.

"The meeting with Mr. Fahey was an in depth and thoughtful discussion of the historic and academic facts regarding the Persian Gulf," said Reza Pahlavi of Iran. "It was an opportunity to unequivocally express, on behalf of my compatriots, our unwavering national position on the sole usage of the name Persian Gulf."

"I am pleased to have been reassured by Mr. Fahey that the National Geographic Society recognizes 'Persian Gulf,' as the undisputed historic name of the body of water south of the Iranian plateau," the forty-four year old political leader added.

During the meeting, National Geographic Society CEO, John Fahey, assured Mr. Pahlavi that his organization was respectful and fully cognizant of the level and depth of sentiment among Iranians on the matter, disclosing that his organization was in the midst of an in depth study and reflection on the merits of the use of a secondary name for the Persian Gulf.

Reza Pahlavi, who has been leading a campaign of political defiance against the Theocracy of Iran, is the former Crown Prince of Iran. He is an accomplished jet fighter pilot and graduate of US Air Force training program at the former Reese Air Force Base. Author of Winds of Change, The Future of Democracy in Iran, he is a Political Science graduate of the University of Southern California.

The National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest nonprofit educational and scientific organizations. Its magazine, the National Geographic, is published in 24 languages with a global circulation spanning every country.