You won't find Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, or Lesser Tunb on most tourist maps. Together, these three rocky specs of land in the Persian Gulf add up to a mere 10 square miles. Yet right now, they're some of the most dangerous real estate on earth. As the conflict between the US and Iran escalates, these islands have suddenly become prime targets for American airstrikes.
If you want to understand why a regional clash can instantly threaten global energy supplies, you have to look at these three islands. They aren't just dirt and rock. They're a military stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway where 20% of the world's oil and natural gas transits. By fortifying them, Iran has built a physical gateway that can choke off global trade at a moment's notice.
The current US military campaign has brought this cold dispute into a hot war. With US forces striking targets on Abu Musa and Greater Tunb, the strategic reality of these islands is finally being exposed.
The unsinkable aircraft carriers of the Persian Gulf
To understand why these islands are so critical, you have to look at how ships actually navigate the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is narrow, but the deep-water channels that giant oil tankers must use are even narrower. Those channels run directly past Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb.
Iran has spent decades turning these islands into heavily armed garrisons.
Abu Musa, the largest of the three, is basically a fortress. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) uses it as a primary base, packing it with fast-attack boats, anti-ship missiles, and advanced air defense systems. Greater Tunb is similarly militarized, acting as a forward base for cruise missiles. Lesser Tunb is smaller but serves as an early-warning radar and military outpost.
Think of them as a layered, unsinkable defense system. If Iran wants to harass commercial shipping, lay mines, or launch swarm attacks, it doesn't need to send ships from its mainland. It can do it all from these three islands, right on top of the shipping lanes.
How Iran ended up with the keys to the strait
This entire mess dates back to 1971. Just two days before the United Arab Emirates officially formed, the Shah of Iran sent his navy to seize the islands by force. Back then, the Shah was America's favorite regional ally, so the West looked the other way.
The Shah famously warned that a single small boat with a rocket launcher could disrupt the entire strait. He was right, but he probably didn't envision his own successor regime using that exact tactic against the West.
When the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the Shah, the new regime inherited these strategic strongholds. During the "Tanker War" of the 1980s, Iran used the islands to launch attacks on global oil vessels. Today, they're using the exact same playbook, only with much better technology.
The UAE has never stopped claiming the islands. They even managed to get China and Russia to sign statements supporting a diplomatic resolution. That made Tehran furious, but it didn't change the facts on the ground. For 55 years, the world tolerated what it called a "bilateral territorial dispute". Now, we're all paying the price for ignoring it.
Why a US invasion of the islands is highly unlikely
With the US military hitting Iranian missile sites on Greater Tunb, some commentators are wondering if American Marines or paratroopers will try to seize the islands.
Honestly, that would be a logistical nightmare.
Taking the islands is entirely possible for the US military, which has massive firepower and troop presence nearby. But keeping them? That's a different story. The islands have almost no natural cover or heavy fortifications to protect occupying forces. Any US troops stationed there would be sitting ducks, completely exposed to Iran's massive arsenal of ballistic missiles and suicide drones launched from the Iranian mainland.
Instead of an invasion, expect the US to continue using precision airstrikes to systematically dismantle the radar, missile launchers, and fast-boat docks on the islands. The goal isn't to plant an American flag on Abu Musa; it's to neutralize Iran's ability to use the islands as weapons.
What happens next
If you're watching this conflict unfold, don't keep your eyes solely on Tehran or Washington. Watch these three islands.
The UAE, which hosts US forces and has taken fire from Iran during this war, is going to push hard to reclaim the islands whenever a diplomatic resolution is finally negotiated. They know that as long as Iran holds Abu Musa and the Tunbs, the threat to global shipping will never truly go away.
For now, expect regional tensions and oil prices to fluctuate wildly based on the status of these rocky outposts. If the US successfully knocks out the missile batteries on Greater Tunb, shipping lanes might temporarily stabilize. But if Iran manages to resupply the islands, the bottleneck at the Strait of Hormuz will remain as dangerous as ever. Keep a close eye on shipping insurance rates and carrier movements in the Persian Gulf over the coming days—they'll tell you exactly how high the risk remains.
