TEHRAN, Nov. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran has banned the circulation of National Geographic, a well-known US magazine, in the country, forit mislabeled the "Persian Gulf" as "Arabian Gulf" in its recently published atlases, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

    The Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh defended the move as "following up through legal channels."

    "The Iranian government has always defended the historical identity of the Persian Gulf, and invention of new names for historical places will never resolve anyone's problem,"Ramezanzadeh said.

    "The government has given necessary warnings in this regard and the issue is being legally followed up," added the spokesman.Meanwhile, reporters of the magazine have also been banned from entering Iran, according to the foreign media department of Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

    The website of National Geographic had reportedly been flooded with letters voicing strong objections from the Iranians living inthe United States, who had demanded the magazine to correct itsmistake. Enditem