Qeshm and Its Strategic Role in the Strait of Hormuz… Between Geographic Weight and the Possibility of Changing the Equation

Qeshm Island is the largest island in the Gulf, covering an area of nearly 1,500 square kilometers, and lies no more than two kilometers from the Iranian coast, giving it a highly significant strategic position in the regional maritime security equation.

The island is about 22 kilometers from the city of Bandar Abbas, the main base of the Iranian naval forces, reinforcing its role as an advanced military foothold in the region.

Qeshm is viewed as a direct factor of influence in the Strait of Hormuz, given its proximity to one of the world’s most important maritime corridors for the passage of oil tankers and international trade.

Militarily, the island hosts multiple defensive capabilities, including anti-ship missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones, in addition to fortified underground military facilities, giving it both defensive and offensive characteristics.

It is also sometimes described as an “unsinkable aircraft carrier,” in reference to its geographic positioning and its ability to accommodate advanced military systems, as well as the presence of fast naval units التابعة للحرس الثوري.

The island is surrounded by a network of strategically important islands, most notably Hormuz, Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb, forming an integrated geographic system that enhances influence and control in the Gulf.

Economically, Qeshm hosts major ports and an active free trade and industrial zone, alongside facilities in shipbuilding and oil and gas refining, making it a meeting point between the economic and strategic dimensions of Iranian policy.

Could Qeshm become a factor capable of overturning the balance between the logic of deterrence and the balance of power in the Strait of Hormuz? And is it the strategic point that will be relied upon in the coming phase?

Only time will reveal the course of upcoming developments, as attention turns to a strait of growing sensitivity because of its direct impact on the movement of the global economy, amid a stagnation in ship traffic reflecting the scale of anticipation and anxiety in the region.