Don’t forget the Persian Gulf. If Iran is so desperate to try to close the narrow shallow gulf, can the big blue water carriers of the US Navy operate safely within the Gulf? Remember the Iranians have fortified the shores with state of the art Chinese made shore to ship missiles. They have less than a thirty second flight to target. The US Navy will go and fight wherever ordered. Yet IMHO it is possible that if US capital ships are there in force, the Navy faces a debacle worse than Pearl Harbor in less than 15 minutes. Of course Iran would be obliterated but it would be little comfort to the families of the sailors and the cost would be huge. May it never occur.
The U.S. Navy doesn’t have to operate carriers in the Persian Gulf. From positions off Oman, carrier aircraft can dominate the entire Gulf of Oman and the entire southern Persian Gulf. Carrier aircraft can utilize air-to-air refueling or our base in Bahrain to control the airspace over the central Gulf region. Same procedure works in the northern Gulf with the assistance of Kuwait. And we would have the cooperation of these countries since they would be royally pi**ed at the Iranians for cutting off their major income source. We wouldn’t have to base aircraft in either on of these countries, just sortie them from the carriers and refuel as necessary. Some people are so ready to denigrate the capabilities of carriers that they forget that the aircraft from carriers can have an extended range to the target while the carrier stays out of harms way.