It is a sweltering summer's day on the docks of Bandar Abbas, and fishermen are unloading their catch. One proudly holds several baby sharks tangled in his nets – shark sandwich is a local delicacy, he explains. Another rides off with two large fish strung over his motorbike. In many ways it looks like an ordinary fishing port, but this is the Iranian city on the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital shipping lanes and a key focal point of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The BBC is the first international media to visit the Iranian side of the strait since the conflict began. When the US and Israel launched attacks on 28 February, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) responded by firing on commercial ships attempting to go through the strait without its permission, effectively making the waterway impassable. Seafarers from around the world were stranded and oil prices surged, pushing up the cost of energy and fuel. The US retaliated with a blockade of its own, targeting any ships using Iran's Gulf ports.
“BBC visits Iranian side of Strait of Hormuz as fishermen return after ceasefire; seized ships remain unreleased.”
For months, these waters were too dangerous to fish. Many fishermen stopped going out; others continued, knowing they were heading into a battlefield. Now, weeks after Iran allowed the partial reopening of the strait under a ceasefire agreement with the US that is mostly holding, the sea is calm once more and fishermen are returning.
One of them, Abdol Rahman, took the BBC through the strait for a close-up view of how the war has affected life in and around Bandar Abbas. As they sailed, two container ships seized by the IRGC in April – at the height of the conflict – came into view. At the time, the IRGC said the vessels had endangered maritime security "by operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems". Despite the ceasefire, the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, flagged to Panama and Liberia respectively, have not been released. Dozens of other cargo ships could be seen offshore, waiting for permission from the Iranian authorities to pass through.
As they approached Hormuz Island, 8km off the coast, Rahman pointed out an old fortress overlooking the sea. Its weathered red walls are a reminder that control of the strait has been fought over for centuries. Built in the early 16th Century, it was central to the Portuguese Empire's control of this vital waterway – until 1622.