Greater and Lesser Tunb

Greater and Lesser Tunb, disputed islands, E Persian Gulf. Greater Tunb is approximately 6 sq mi (10 sq km) in area; Lesser Tunb, some 7 mi (11 km) to the west, about 1 sq mi (2 sq km). Located close to the shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz, the islands were held by the kings of Hormuz (1330–1507) and then were administered by the Portuguese until 1622. The Persians held them until 1904, when they nominally passed to Sharjah and then Ras al-Khaimah, British-protected sheikdoms that later became part of the United Arab Emirates. In 1971 Iran seized the Tunbs along with the island of Abu Musa; the ownership of the islands remains disputed between Iran and the United Arab Emirates.


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