Iran’s “navy of ghosts”—mines, drones, and shore-based missiles—achieves a functional blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by making commercial transit uninsurable.
Browsing: Harrison Kass
Coalition air superiority over Iran enables strike operations but falls short of supremacy as residual threats persist.
Iran’s proxies’ role: Hezbollah active, Iraqi militias harass, Houthis restrained. Centralized command disrupted.
US builds ~90 Tomahawks/year, used 400 in 72 hours. Replacement slow. Readiness risk.
IRGC severely degraded but distributed command preserves continuity. Ideological-economic hybrid may consolidate into military-dominant state.
A U.S. carrier strike on Iran would be a calibrated, limited operation—not regime change—and a tactical tool, not a strategic solution.