For Iran, the Persian Gulf is simply a peculiarly crucial area, due to the fact that it involves not only access to oil and natural gas sources, but besides an object of pride, power of the state and its continuity throughout history. As 1 of the 17th-century Persian historians stated, “if the planet were a golden ring, Ormuz would be its jewel.” Iran gained control of part of the Ormuz Strait after the Persian-Portuguese War in 1622.
