Iranian forces attacked ship navigation systems located on Oman’s island of Didamar in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, claiming the facilities were “helping the flow of oil smuggling by the enemy,” meaning the United States. Iran also claimed two oil tankers “exploded after hitting naval mines” when they tried to use a route through the strait that was not authorized by Tehran.
Iran’s state-run Fars News Agency confirmed Didamar, which is also known as Little Quoin Island, was targeted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy on November 8 — ostensibly because “enemy navigational systems” were helping ships transit the Strait of Hormuz without permission from Tehran.
Other Iranian state media sources described these unauthorized transits as “oil smuggling by the enemy.”
Reuters on Wednesday quoted shipping industry sources who confirmed Didamar was attacked, although they said the damage would have “limited impact on commercial shipping in the Strait,” especially since alternative navigational aids are readily available.
Video footage and satellite photos showed smoke and heat blooms on the island, but no official damage estimate has been provided by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) or the government of Oman.
Didamar Island, whose name means “daughter” in a local tribal dialect, boasts a radio tower, a marine radar tower, and a historic lighthouse that was constructed in 1914. A slightly larger, but still very small, nearby island is known as Mumar (“mother”) or Greater Quoin Island. The smaller island was chosen for the lighthouse because it has a flatter surface. Didamar Island looks like a tiny cliff jutting out of the ocean with a few structures on its peak.
The facility on Didamar is known as the Hormuz Control Center in Oman, and is staffed by members of the Oman Royal Navy. The island’s navigational aids are part of a safety network maintained by Arabian Maritime and Navigation Aids Services (AMNAS), which operates under an exclusive charter from the Sultan of Oman.
The Maritime Executive said on Tuesday there was some “uncertainty” surrounding Iran’s claims to have attacked Didamar Island, as the plumes of smoke captured on video could have been coming from damaged oil tankers nearby rather than the island itself.
A senior Omani official told reporters from the Maritime Executive that the island had not been attacked, and none of its navigational facilities were damaged. As of Thursday, the Sultanate of Oman has not denounced any Iranian attacks or violations of its sovereignty, as it has done on previous occasions when Iran struck its territory.
The IRGC claimed on Thursday that two oil tankers “exploded after hitting naval mines” while attempting to use an “unauthorized route” through the Strait of Hormuz. If this claim is accurate, smoke from the ships could have been spotted from shore and misinterpreted as damage to Didamar Island.
The IRGC did not identify the two tankers that allegedly exploded, and there was no immediate confirmation of the incident from independent sources.
“U.S. forces continue to work around the clock keeping the Strait of Hormuz open for commercial shipping, strictly enforcing the ironclad naval blockade against Iran, and working with U.S. interagency partners to prevent the IRGC from using land routes and the Caspian Sea to move advanced weapons systems, dual-use tech, sanctioned materials, and illegal revenue streams,” CENTCOM said in its latest social media post on Wednesday.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) has reported several instances of commercial vessels struck by unknown “projectiles” in the Strait of Hormuz this week, but none of those incidents resembled the massive damage from naval mines claimed by the IRGC.
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