The US decimated Iran’s navy. How does it still control the Strait of Hormuz?

MSM ^ | 04/07/26 | Harrison Kass

[daniel1212]

Iran does not need to secure the Strait of Hormuz. It only needs to make sure that no one else can, either.

Despite the sorry condition of its naval forces,.. Iran still maintains selective control of the Strait of Hormuz—resulting in 80 to 90 percent of the traffic being halted. How? Not through naval dominance, but rather through asymmetric disruption, which Iran uses to make travel through the Strait too dangerous to risk.

Iran Doesn’t Need to Close the Strait to Cut Off Shipping

Iran’s strategy is not to implement a total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, it raises the risks and costs of passage, encouraging most to simply stay away. Through a combination of cheap weapons, geography, and cultivated uncertainty, Iran is able to achieve sufficient disruption to functionally close the strait.

Iran is aided in its efforts by the structure of the shipping business. Most seaborne commerce—particularly in hydrocarbons...—takes place on enormous tankers, which often cost upwards of $100 million, not including the value of their cargo...and have virtually no defenses against missile and drone attacks. Given the vast cost involved in losing a tanker, no party involved is willing to take the risk of running the blockade. Indeed, seaborne insurance companies will often charge extremely high insurance rates—or refuse insurance altogether...

How Iran Can Punch Above Its Weight in the Persian Gulf

Naval Mines: One of the primary asymmetric tools.. is naval mines. Iran is thought to possess an inventory of 3,000 to 4,000 mines, including contact, acoustic, and influence-triggered types. These mines are hard to detect and harder to clear,..

Submarines: Iran also deploys midget submarines, like the Ghadir class,.. Iran has a vast arsenal of land-based anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs)..

Drones: Shahed-type drones are launched from deeper inland

[marron]

Trump is bringing in something like 10,000 ground troops, so he may be planning to do just as you suggest.

[eyedigress]

Your inner John “F-in” is not an approved form of reasoning on FR.

China has a problem, Its called Iran.

[powerset]

“The Roman Legions practiced decimation. If a unit was cowardly or didn’t fight well — they would kill every tenth man.”

According to Wikipedia, “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_(punishment)”, it was “... a form of military discipline in which every tenth man in a group was executed by members of his cohort[!]”.