Oman, Gulf Of

Gulf of Oman, northwest arm of the Arabian Sea, between the eastern portion (Oman) of the Arabian Peninsula to the southwest and Iran to the north. The gulf is 200 miles (320 km) wide between Cape al-Ḥadd in Oman and Gwādar Bay on the Pakistan–Iran border. It is 350 miles (560 km) long and connects with the Persian Gulf to the northwest through the Strait of Hormuz. The small ports along the gulf include Ṣuḥār, al-Khābūrah, Muscat, and Ṣūr, in Oman, and Jāsk and Bandar Beheshtī (formerly Chāh Bahār), in Iran.

Some fishing is carried on, but the gulf’s main importance is as a shipping route for the oil-producing area around the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Oman offers the only entrance from the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean into the Persian Gulf. The world’s major oil exporters and importers have a joint interest in its security.