Strait of Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz, narrow waterway, linking the Persian Gulf on the west, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea on the east. Separating the Arabian Peninsula from Iran, it is 270 km (170 mi) long and from 50 to 80 km (30 to 50 mi) wide. It is of great strategic economic significance to the worldwide shipment of petroleum. Here are Qeshm Island (Iran) as well as three islands—Ţunb al Kubrá (Greater Tunb), Ţunb aşŞughrá (Lesser Tunb), and Abū Mūsá—seized by Iran in 1971 but claimed by the United Arab Emirates.