US strikes Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz
The United States carried out what appeared to be a limited, unannounced strike on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of the midterm elections, according to a U.S. official quoted by AP. Iranian state media reported explosions on the islands of Qeshm and Hengam and near Bandar Abbas, and the official said the targets were Iranians firing surface-to-air missiles at U.S. forces in the strait. Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said it was now up to Washington to prevent a renewed war. Read at AP News →
The Battle of Salamis
What happened then
In 480 BC an allied Greek fleet led by the Athenian general Themistocles fought the much larger navy of the Persian king Xerxes in the narrow straits between the island of Salamis and the coast near Athens. It was arguably the largest naval battle of the ancient world, and the outnumbered Greeks won.
What caused it
This was the second Persian invasion of Greece. After the Persians broke through at Thermopylae, they overran much of central Greece, including Attica, and the Greek fleet pulled back to Salamis. The allies argued over whether to retreat further, and, according to Herodotus, Themistocles secretly sent his servant Sicinnus to the Persians with a message that the Greeks were terrified and about to flee.
How it was resolved
The Persian fleet rowed into the straits to trap the Greeks. In those cramped waters its greater numbers became a handicap: ships could not maneuver and fell into disorder, and the Greek line attacked and routed them.
How it turned out
Xerxes withdrew to Asia with much of his army. The next year the Greeks defeated the remaining Persian forces on land at Plataea and at sea at Mycale, and Persia never again tried to conquer mainland Greece. Salamis became the classic lesson that in a narrow strait, geography can matter as much as the size of a fleet.
Sources: Herodotus, Histories VIII.75 (tr. Godley, Perseus) · Wikipedia: Battle of Salamis
Further reading: The Battle of Salamis by Barry Strauss