Washington DC - Ahead of a trip to Saudi Arabia next week, President Donald Trump is believed to be planning to change the name of yet another body of water. This time, it's the Persian Gulf.

The Associated Press spoke to two US officials who suggested that Trump may change the name of the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Gulf, hours after he teased a "very, very big" announcement on the Middle East.

"We're going to have a very, very big announcement to make," Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday. "Like, as big as it gets, and I won't tell you on what. And it's very positive."

Neither the White House nor the National Security Council has confirmed or denied the potential change, but it wouldn't be the first time that Trump changed the name of a body of water. It's also unclear if this is the announcement he teased on Tuesday.

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While the "Persian Gulf" name has been used widely since the 16th Century, terms such as "Arabian Gulf" and the "Gulf of Arabia" are common among Middle Eastern countries.

The notable exception is Iran, which is attached to the "Persian Gulf" name both due to its Persian history and its proximity to the waterway.

In 2017, Trump triggered a spat with Iran's then-president Hassan Rouhani when he used the "Arabian Gulf" name during discussions over the Iran nuclear deal.

Rouhani accused Trump at the time of selling his friendship to Iran's regional rivals and fundamentally misunderstanding the Middle East's history. He even suggested that Trump should "study geography."