As the USS Abraham Lincoln enters the Persian Gulf, military experts warn that Iran may leverage its coastline and land based missiles to level the playing field against the superior American navy.
The maritime arena has emerged as the most volatile theater in the current standoff between the United States and Iran, with President Donald Trump repeatedly highlighting the presence of a massive American armada positioned off the Iranian coast. As the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group takes its station, Tehran has responded by placing its naval forces on the highest possible alert level. While the United States possesses overwhelming technological and numerical superiority, military analysts warn that the geographical reality of the Persian Gulf provides Iran with unique opportunities to inflict significant damage. Danny Citrinowicz, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), notes that this war may see the maritime dimension play a far more central role than in previous encounters, as Iran prepares to utilize land based assets to target American ships in the narrow waters of the Middle East.
According to Citrinowicz, the primary threat to the American fleet does not actually come from the Iranian navy itself, which remains in a state of significant inferiority, but from the Iranian landmass. Iran possesses an extensive arsenal of land based ballistic missiles and long range suicide drones specifically designed to target moving naval vessels. By launching these from the safety of their 3,000 kilometer coastline, the Iranians can force the American fleet to stay further out at sea, complicating air operations and missile defense. This land based strategy is a deliberate attempt to negate the American advantage in traditional ship to ship combat.
...The most drastic card in Tehran's hand remains the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Citrinowicz explains that Iran has the capability to mine the narrow passage or use scuttled ships as physical barriers to block the flow of global energy. This was a significant concern during the "12 Day War" in June and remains the ultimate leverage for the regime. "Hormuz is perhaps the most important story," Citrinowicz explains, noting that the threat of a global economic meltdown is Iran's primary deterrent against a sustained American campaign. (Ed note: The sinking of a big old oil tanker filled with sand in the shallow parts of the Strait of Hormutz would block maritime traffic, and become a world concern. And we haven't even talked about the missile fortifications along the coast of Iran. Some areas of which will definitely be the ancient area which was once called Elam. Could a delay in a US Navy attack be due to the fact that they are surveying the land fortifications in order to helicopter in the Marines?) (Read More)
...The most drastic card in Tehran's hand remains the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Citrinowicz explains that Iran has the capability to mine the narrow passage or use scuttled ships as physical barriers to block the flow of global energy. This was a significant concern during the "12 Day War" in June and remains the ultimate leverage for the regime. "Hormuz is perhaps the most important story," Citrinowicz explains, noting that the threat of a global economic meltdown is Iran's primary deterrent against a sustained American campaign. (Ed note: The sinking of a big old oil tanker filled with sand in the shallow parts of the Strait of Hormutz would block maritime traffic, and become a world concern. And we haven't even talked about the missile fortifications along the coast of Iran. Some areas of which will definitely be the ancient area which was once called Elam. Could a delay in a US Navy attack be due to the fact that they are surveying the land fortifications in order to helicopter in the Marines?) (Read More)
