[nuconvert]

"Iran controls 2,000 kilometers of the coast of the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman"

I know nothing about this sort of operation except that I have read that Iran has heavily mined their waters and are prepared to physically block the Straits of Hormuz, thru sinking ships, etc, and they wouldn't need to take direct shots at US ships with silkworms, etc.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

The tried mining the straits back in '88. After the guided missile frigate "Samuel B. Roberts" was almost sunk, the U.S. responded and in one day pretty much handed Iran's navy back to them on a platter. The final tally was 2 Iranian capital ships, as many as 6 speedboats and 2 (temporarily) wrecked oil platforms. The U.S. lost one Cobra Helicopter which crashed into the sea (no evidence that it was shot down).

I think, in this case, that the worst thing that the Iranians could do would to actually cause some damage to the U.S. In such a case, I seriously doubt that the U.S. would leave much of an offensive capability anywhere along their coastline. They could also occupy some Iranian strongholds and oil platforms. This wouldn't do much for their ability to get cash.