TEHRAN - Iran has threatened legal action against Google for not labelling the body of water between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula on Google Maps.

Iran has accused the US internet giant of removing the words "Persian Gulf".

"Toying with modern technologies in political issues is among the new measures by the enemies against Iran, (and) in this regard, Google has been treated as a plaything," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Thursday.

"Omitting the name Persian Gulf is (like) playing with the feelings and realities of the Iranian nation," he said, according to state-run Press TV.

Many Arab nations, some of which also border the water, refer to it as the Arabian Gulf.

Mehr news agency quoted Ramin Mehmanparast as saying that the internet giant will face "serious damages" if it does not label the patch of water.

A Google spokesperson told The Guardian newspaper that it had not removed the term "Persian Gulf" - it had not labelled it from the beginning, as is the case with many other places.

In fact, Google maps, while showing the body of water does not have a label for it, though nearby bodies of water - including the Gulf of Oman are labelled.

According to CNN, Iranians across the world are venting their anger over it. Around nine pages on Facebook are dedicated to the issue, including "Hey Google, put Persian Gulf back on the map" and "Boycott Google for removing Persian Gulf from the maps."