Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf is a shallow marginal sea of the Indian Ocean located between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran in western Asia. The waterway extends approximately 990 km from the Shatt al-Arab delta in the north-west to the Strait of Hormuz in the south-east, where it connects to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Bordering countries include Iran to the north and east, and the Arabian states of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman along the western and southern shores. The Persian Gulf holds immense strategic and economic significance as one of the world's most important energy corridors, with littoral states controlling a substantial share of global proven oil and gas reserves. The Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf's sole outlet to open ocean, serves as a critical chokepoint through which an estimated one-fifth of global petroleum production transits by tanker. The region's hydrocarbon wealth has driven rapid industrialisation and economic diversification in Gulf states, including investments in petrochemicals, aluminium smelting, steel production and port infrastructure. The shallow, warm waters support important fisheries and marine ecosystems, though these face pressure from coastal development, desalination plants and occasional oil spills. Geopolitical tensions, territorial disputes and naval security concerns have made the Persian Gulf a focal point of international diplomacy and military presence for decades.