Middle East and North Africa

More than 30 islands dot Iran’s southern coast, stretching into the Persian Gulf and forming a defensive arc around the Strait of Hormuz. Although most of these territories are small and uninhabited, Tehran has transformed several into military and economic outposts critical to exerting control over the region.

And the United States has taken notice.

More than 30 islands dot Iran’s southern coast, stretching into the Persian Gulf and forming a defensive arc around the Strait of Hormuz. Although most of these territories are small and uninhabited, Tehran has transformed several into military and economic outposts critical to exerting control over the region.

And the United States has taken notice.

During the opening days of the Iran war, Tehran accused U.S. forces of targeting a desalination plant on Qeshm Island, disrupting freshwater supplies to roughly 30 villages. Less than a week later, Washington launched its first of several bombing raids on the oil powerhouse of Kharg Island. And this month, the U.S. military struck the contested Greater Tunb Island.

When asked whether the United States would be prepared to seize Iranian territory, U.S. President Donald Trump has offered nonanswers. “I can’t say that to you because if I did, it would be foolish,” Trump told Fox News on July 14, adding that he hasn’t ruled out a ground offensive. The U.S. military has more than 50,000 troops stationed across the Middle East, including thousands of paratroopers and several hundred special operations personnel.

But as Washington barrels toward its most significant escalation in the war to date, many experts believe that a full-scale invasion could involve operations on Iran’s islands—much to the wider region’s detriment.

“While control of an island might improve the security of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and deny Iran the use of a valuable military position, it would also risk transforming a limited military operation into a prolonged territorial occupation,” Neil Quilliam, an associate fellow with Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa program, wrote in an email to Foreign Policy.

However, not every island carries the same weight.

A Guide to Iran’s Strategic Islands

From strategic fortresses to economic centers, here are the most consequential islands in Iran’s arsenal—and what a U.S. military campaign could conceivably achieve.

A view of the shoreline on Iran’s Qeshm Island on April 28.Asghar Besharati/Getty Images

Qeshm Island. At a whopping 580 square miles, Iran’s largest and most populous island sits near the Strait of Hormuz and Bandar Abbas, one of Iran’s main ports. Its strategic location makes it the perfect spot for Tehran to advance its regional agenda, while its expansive underground tunnel network and ability to deploy submarines directly into the Gulf have........

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