Iran says it targeted navigation and communications infrastructure on a small Omani island in the Strait of Hormuz, while U.S. Central Command continues enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports and escorting commercial vessels along the waterway’s southern route.
Three sources told Reuters on Wednesday that navigation systems and communications equipment on Didamar Island, also known as Little Quoin Island, had been attacked. The incident has heightened concerns over the security of maritime infrastructure supporting oil shipments through the Gulf.
Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy carried out the strike, claiming the island’s systems helped vessels pass through the strait without Tehran’s approval.
A satellite image shows Didamar Island in Oman (Google/Airbus/Handout via Reuters)
Iranian state television likewise alleged that personnel and equipment on the island “were helping the flow of oil smuggling by the enemy.” The IRGC said it was responsible for the attack, according to Reuters.
Reuters footage showed smoke rising from the rocky island.
The Institute for the Study of War said the strike appeared to have taken place Nov. 8, two days before Iranian state media publicly claimed responsibility.
The institute also cautioned that the scale of the damage remains uncertain, pointing out that commercial ships continued traveling along the southern route after the reported attack.
“The extent of the damage to these systems and the systems struck remains unclear at the time of this writing,” ISW said in its assessment.
Satellite imagery from the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 program, reviewed by Reuters and dated Nov. 8, showed what appeared to be scorch marks near radar and radio equipment on Didamar.
A ship travels through the Strait of Hormuz during a two-week temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran on April 8, 2026. (Shady Alassar/Anadolu/Getty Images)
The reported strike comes as U.S. forces conduct missions to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic passage linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
The U.S. Navy established a blockade of Iranian ports in April, after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in February as tensions escalated. Washington suspended the blockade in June after a temporary ceasefire, but restored it in July.
Commercial and allied vessels have been advised to take a southern route through Omani territorial waters. That corridor lies beyond Tehran’s direct military control and is monitored by CENTCOM.
The Didamar episode comes as oil-producing states in the Gulf try to rebuild shipments disrupted by the conflict.
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An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboat moves through the Persian Gulf during an IRGC marine parade marking Persian Gulf National Day near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran, April 29, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Regional oil exports recovered to more than 80% of prewar levels in September and October, Reuters reported, supported by CENTCOM operations and higher Saudi shipments through the Red Sea.
Shipping firms have also used offshore transfers between tankers near Oman and the United Arab Emirates to keep oil moving.
Didamar is Omani territory, making the reported strike especially sensitive as Tehran seeks to disrupt maritime activity in the region. The uninhabited, rocky island lies about 10 nautical miles north of the tip of Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, close to a major commercial shipping lane through the strait.
For decades, the island has served as a navigation marker for vessels using the waterway. A lighthouse was established there in 1914.
Its maritime infrastructure reportedly includes radar installed on a tower roughly 25 meters high, along with radio equipment that helps ships navigate the narrow passage.
Didamar has also been linked to the Hormuz Control Centre, which manages maritime traffic in the surrounding waters.
A satellite image shows the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and a major corridor for global energy supplies. (Amanda Macias/News Media)
Arabian Maritime and Navigation Aids Services, or AMMAS, has been identified as a regional provider of navigational infrastructure, including maritime lights, buoys and related equipment.
The reported strike on Didamar follows a series of U.S. military operations against Iranian positions elsewhere near the waterway.
U.S. forces attacked targets on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Nov. 2. Officials characterized the operation as defensive and said it targeted Iranian surface-to-air missile threats.
Qeshm, near the Strait of Hormuz, hosts Iranian naval facilities and military sites linked to the Revolutionary Guard.
President Donald Trump acknowledged on Nov. 6 that U.S. forces were continuing to carry out limited strikes against Iranian targets.
When asked about the strikes near Qeshm Island, Trump said, “I don’t want to talk about it. We do minor strikes. They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five.”