Iran’s military has struck Didamar, a small Omani island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported on Tuesday, in the latest escalation of the fight for control of the waterway through which much of the world’s oil is shipped.

Didamar is a small, rocky outcrop at the entry to the Persian Gulf that carries navigational equipment and a lighthouse built by the United Kingdom in 1914. Iranian state television claimed the equipment on the island “were helping the flow of oil smuggling by the enemy”, while an official with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said radar and communications systems used to help ships pass through a Pentagon-backed route had been destroyed.

What Oman has confirmed

An Omani coast guard official confirmed that an explosion struck the island but gave no further details, according to The Wall Street Journal. Oman’s Maritime Security Center, which oversees security incidents in Omani waters, declined to comment. Footage circulating online appeared to show smoke rising from the island, but the extent of any damage has not been independently verified.

The strike came after the United States carried out a series of strikes in recent weeks on Qeshm Island, Iran’s largest island in the strait, which the IRGC has used to launch drones and missiles. Residents of Qeshm have reported hearing explosions on a near-nightly basis, according to Iranian state media reports cited by The Wall Street Journal.

A waterway under strain

The Strait of Hormuz carries about a fifth of the world’s traded oil, and shipping through it has come under sustained attack since the war between the United States, Israel and Iran began in February. The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization has recorded at least 130 confirmed incidents in the strait and surrounding waters since the war started, with at least 25 seafarers killed.

October was the worst month so far for shipping in the area, with 37 ships attacked, the highest monthly total since the start of the war, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Iran has continued to hit tankers that it says are using unauthorised routes, while the United States has escorted tankers through the strait.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said earlier that Tehran had offered a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the war was “effectively over”, although negotiators are nowhere near a peace deal. The Didamar strike underlines how, despite that claim, the contest over the strait is still intensifying. Sources: New York Post and Daily Economy.