Visual guide to Iran’s coastline and islands at the Strait of Hormuz

For Al Jazeera, Mohamed A. Hussein and Mohammed Haddad provide a map of how Iran strategically observes and blocks the Strait of Hormuz from its islands and coastlines.

The first strategic island along the Strait of Hormuz is Larak Island.

While it is only about 49sq km (19sq miles), its position makes it a centrepiece of Iran’s maritime strategy and allows it to act as a natural observation deck and gatekeeper for maritime movement.

Since the start of the current war, Iran has rerouted selected vessels through a narrow corridor north of the island, inside its territorial waters.

This passage, monitored and controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), acts as a “safe corridor” for approved ships, allowing transit under Iranian supervision.

You’ve likely seen the top-down maps of the strait by now that show a quick overview of the geography. In this piece, the zoom into specific geography features gives a better sense of scale and details of Iran’s defenses.