The use of the term Middle East as a region of international affairs apparently began in British and American diplomatic circles quite independently of each other over concern for the security of the same country: Iran, then known to the west as Persia. In 1900 Thomas Edward Gordon published an article, The Problem of the Middle East, which began:
আন্তর্জাতিক বিষয়গুলোর এক অঞ্চল হিসেবে "মধ্যপ্রাচ্য" শব্দটির ব্যবহার কোথা থেকে শুরু হয়েছিল?
in British and American diplomatic circles