TEHRAN — The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) of Iran has opened a passenger airport on the important Persian Gulf Island of Greater Tunb.

According to an IRIB News report on Tuesday, the IRGC and Iranian civil aviation authorities traveled to the Greater Tunb on the first passenger flight to the island to open a new runway at its Imam Ali airport.

The Greater Tunb, with a surface area of slightly more than 10 square kilometers, is one of three Iranian islands that overlook the Strait of Hormuz at the opening of the Persian Gulf.

Nearly one-fifth of the world's crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which is controlled by Iran and neighboring Oman.

Iran has frequently denied territorial claims to the Greater Tunb and two other neighboring islands by the UAE.

Mohammad Mohammadi Bakhsh, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO), stated that the new runway at Greater Tunb's airport will facilitate travel to the island from important business areas in southern Iran, including Bandar Abbas.

He stated that the CAO has provided all necessary clearances for passenger planes to take off and land at the airport.

The airport will soon be able to accommodate round-the-clock aircraft to numerous places in Iran, according to the official.

The IRGC opened the Imam Ali Airport in Greater Tunb in 2010. The new runway at the airport is 2,150 meters long and can accommodate small passenger jets such as the ERJ-145.

The complex is around 130 kilometers (80 miles) from an international airport at Bandar Abbas, an Iranian port city on the Persian Gulf coast.