Qeshm Island in the context of Qeshm County

The Portuguese–Safavid wars or Persian-Portuguese wars (Persian: جنگ‌های ایران و پرتغال) were a series of wars between the Portuguese Empire and Safavid Iran from 1507 to 1728. The Portuguese were also supported by Kingdom of Hormuz, its vassal, and Safavids had the help of the Kingdom of England on the other side.

During this era, Portugal established its rule for about more than a century in Hormuz and more than 80 years in Bahrain, capturing some other islands and ports such as Qeshm and Bandar Abbas. The conflict came to an end when the Persian shah Abbas I (r. 1588–1629), conquered Portuguese Bahrain, forcing them to war in the Persian Gulf.

The Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853 was a treaty signed between the British and the Rulers of the Sheikhdoms of the Lower Gulf, later to become known as the Trucial States and today known as the United Arab Emirates. The treaty followed the effective subjugation of the Qawasim (singular Al Qasimi) maritime federation and other coastal settlements of the Lower Gulf by British forces following the Persian Gulf campaign of 1819, a punitive expedition mounted from Bombay which sailed against Ras Al Khaimah, and which resulted in the signing of the General Maritime Treaty of 1820.

The Perpetual Maritime Truce was conceived by the British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf Colonel Samuel Hennell following a series of seasonal treaties intended to preserve peace at sea between the coastal communities of the region during the annual pearling season and was signed in August 1853 by the Rulers of the area during meetings at Basidu on the island of Qeshm and at Bushire. It was enacted by Hennell's successor, Arnold Burrowes Kemball.

Tarout Island (Arabic: جزيرة تاروت), also spelled Tārūt, is an island in the Persian Gulf in the Qatif Governorate, located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Situated about six kilometers off Qatif mainland coast, the island is connected to Qatif City by three causeways. It stretches from Ras Tanura in the north to Qatif in the west and is the second-largest island in the Persian Gulf after Qeshm Island, covering an area of approximately 70 square kilometers. Tarout Island is home to several towns and villages, including Tārūt, Deyrah, and Darīn.