Countries of the Persian Gulf and Interior Southwest Asia

Persian Gulf Region

Countries bordering the Persian Gulf:

• Bahrain
• Iran
• Iraq
• Kuwait
• Oman
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen (via Gulf of Aden/Red Sea, often included in broader definitions)

Interior Southwest Asia (often termed the Middle East or West Asia)

Countries inland from the Gulf, extending to Central Asia and the Mediterranean:

• Afghanistan
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Georgia
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Lebanon
• Palestine (West Bank/Gaza)
• Syria
• Tajikistan
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan

Note: Definitions vary; some include Egypt, Cyprus, or exclude Transcaucasus/Central Asian states. The term "Southwest Asia" is increasingly preferred over "Middle East" for geographic precision.