evidence: - Contested territories - Administered by Iran - Claimed by United Arab Emirates - Area 12,3 km² The Tunbs (Persian: تنب بزرگ و تنب کوچک, Arabic: طنب الكبرى و طنب الصغرى) are two Islands in the Persian Gulf. Over the course of time the islands have been ruled by various rulers: the kings of Hormuz, Portuguese colonizers, Persian emperors and the British Empire. The British put the Emirate of Sharjah in control in 1921. In 1971, just two days before the British protectorate was about to end and the United Arab Emirates were formed, Iran seized the opportunity to take the islands by force, claiming that they never acknowledged the possession by others. Iran now administers the islands, but they are claimed by the UAE. The islands’ location near the busy Strait of Hormuz, through which numerous oil tankers pass, gives the islands great strategic importance in the region.