Seven strategic islands that could control the world’s oil flow

These seven islands may seem minor, but their position gives them outsized influence over oil, trade, and military strategy in one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors.

Annahar

Seven strategic islands that could control the world’s oil flow

The Iranian islands in the Strait of Hormuz.

Seven quiet islands along the Strait of Hormuz gain power from their location in one of the world’s most important maritime corridors, far beyond their size. A large portion of the world’s oil supplies passes near them, forming a strategic arc that allows control over ships, trade, and navigation in the region.

What appears small on the map holds tremendous military, political, and economic weight, making it one of the most sensitive points of tension in global geopolitics. In times of escalating tension, these islands are no longer just territories; they become power cards whose importance extends beyond the region to global economic stability. For large ships and oil tankers to cross the shallow strait, they must follow routes adjacent to these islands. Thus, controlling them is militarily crucial for keeping the strait open.

Seven small islands, yet they are a potential foothold for any U.S. forces in a land operation against Iran, although initial military predictions indicated that the main target was the island of Kharg, the primary launch point for Iran's crude oil exports. However, Kharg lies deep within the Arabian Gulf, about 600 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz. This has led to speculation that the seven islands at the entrance to the Gulf are prioritized targets.

Seven islands form an "advanced defense arc" around the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranians call "unsinkable aircraft carriers": Hormuz, Larak, Qeshm, and Hengam are closest to the Iranian mainland, with Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb behind them. The UAE demands the return of these three islands, claiming they are Emirati land seized by Iran during the Shah's era in the 1970s. If the Americans take control of these islands, to whom would they return them after the war: the UAE or Iran?