In WW2, strategic bombing was ocassional used to clear paths through minefield. Then minesweepers would come in and clear out the strays that survived. Can’t give you the source but I’ve read minesweeping reports at the National Archives and it is extremely dangerous in good conditions. One sweeper was sunk by its own mine when a sudden wave threw it back into the ship (ship built by Winslow Marine & Railway Co, Eagle Harbor, Washington State).
A Daisy cutter bomb, parachute dropped, can cause a concussive explosion that has a blast radius of 900 feet (based on data from their use in So. Vietnam to clear large hilltops of No. Vietnamese forces and bunkers).
5 Daisy cutters would literally cover a mile across area if set off in a straight line.
If dropped on a missile patrol boat formation, one DC would wreck their day, forever. Even smaller JDAM missiles that are exploded over a swarm fleet could literally wipe them out (either by a massive explosive charge/charges overlapping in area, or by using the old ballbearings/flechette type materials inside the exploding warheads).
One well aimed nuclear bomb would set off an Electro-Magnetic Pulse charge that would fry Iran’s electronics at C3 and on ships, missile bases, airplanes, etc.
A well aimed nuke exploded in the front third of an Iranian air attack would wipe all of them out (probably would need several to cover a wide-range attack of over 10 miles spread).
We have nukes of all sizes and strenghts, from lowly bunker-busters to blockbusters (like the old 2,000-12,000 lb bombs of WW2 and even Tora Bora in Afghanistan). What we need is the will to use them.
Simply put, some of our older weapons systems and tactics will work just as well today (with some modification) when facing threats that Iran’s military poses. Our more modern weapons upgrades are the icing on the cake.
We have too many fancy weapons in the system and not enough of the basic ones which could be used because our enemies are often operating at the basic level.
That is why I advocate the use of napalm, esp. in the mountains and hillsides of Afghanistan. If you what the TV Cable show ‘Bomb Patrol in Afghanistan’, and look at the terrain and actual ambushes by the Taliban, you can see that the terrain is just made for napalm, esp. hillsides and mountain tops.
Nap has been around since WW2 in that form, and even the Greeks had “Greek Fire” several thousand years ago.
One needs to study military history to see how previous threats were met, and how some of the “oldies but goodies” are still adequate for today’s needs.
I hate complicated situations. Close the straight and we blow up your terminals. Without oil money Iran collapses and the populace will rise up against the mullahs.
I don’t suppose EMP could disable their nuke factory under the mountain, though?