With a full 20% of global oil exports held hostage in the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude prices instantly surged to $119. In response to the Tehran regime’s move to sever the global energy lifeline, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) withdrew its billion-dollar warships and launched a ruthless, zero-tolerance hunt directly on the sea surface. Iran’s asymmetric death trap is now being dismantled.
The End of the Illusion and the New Doctrine
The rules of war in the Strait of Hormuz have changed fundamentally. The Tehran regime has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz—the world’s most critical energy artery to traffic. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards set up an asymmetric death trap paralyzing global trade with thousands of small speedboats and hidden mines laid on the seabed. However, U.S. Central Command deployed game-changing, rule-breaking assets to break this blockade. CENTCOM brought pure kinetic firepower to the table: the A-10 Warthog and the AH-64 Apache.
These two Cold War legends carried out their first combat mission by pounding Iran’s southern coastline. The era of high-altitude, sterile bombing runs by billion-dollar aircraft has come to an end. Now, a relentless, brutal, and merciless hunt at sea level has begun.
Flying Tanks Against the Mosquito Fleet
To understand what the new American doctrine is facing on the ground, it is essential to examine Iran’s collapsing naval strategy. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy deployed its large ships to the battlefield in the first weeks of the war. However, the Mowj-class warships, the Alvand-class frigate Sabalan, and the offshore support vessel Makran were sunk or severely damaged within hours. Realizing that conventional naval tactics were suicidal, Iran deployed its infamous “Mosquito Fleet” concept. Over 1,000 fast attack boats of the Boghammar, Seraj-1, and Zolfaghar classes transformed into swarms that suddenly appeared on radar, laid remote-controlled mines, and fled.
Hitting a $25,000 speedboat with million-dollar cruise missiles means losing the war economically. That’s why the Pentagon made a radical decision to strip Iran of this asymmetric cost advantage. Stealth aircraft like the F-35, which fly at high altitudes, and billion-dollar destroyers were withdrawn. Instead, a strategy known in military terminology as a “deck hugger” flying directly close to the ground was adopted.
The A-10 Warthog is a flying tank completely encased in weaponry. The 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling gun mounted on its nose fires 3,900 rounds per minute, acting as a sky-high saw that can split Iranian vessels in two with a single dive. The A-10 pilot sits inside a massive 540-kilogram armor suite nicknamed the “Titanium Bathtub” and fears no ground fire. The APKWS laser kits on its wings transform cheap unguided rockets into precision-guided munitions.
Eliminating the Cost Advantage
The AH-64 Apache helicopters, forming the second phase of the pursuit operation, are the most effective countermeasure against Iran’s “Swarm” tactics on the battlefield. The 30mm M230 chain gun, integrated into the pilot’s helmet and firing 620 rounds per minute, rains death wherever the pilot looks. However, the Apache’s true revolution lies in its kinetic takedowns using “unguided rockets” that crush Iran’s cheap Shahed suicide drones mid-air. These simple rockets, which contain no explosives, destroy the drones solely through kinetic impact energy, nullifying Iran’s asymmetric cost advantage.
Even more critical is the mine-laying hunt the Apaches conduct in the dead of night. Using their thermal cameras to turn night into day, the Apaches immediately sink Iranian vessels preparing to lay mines in the dark with Hellfire missiles the moment they are detected via a small crane mounted on the deck. According to statements by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, over 120 Iranian warships and boats have been damaged or sunk in this low-altitude pursuit operation to date. In night operations alone, more than 16 Iranian naval vessels attempting to lay mines have been clearly targeted by Apaches.
The Collapse of the Tunnels and a Blow to Global Blackmail
Coalition forces are currently breaking the three main pillars of Iran’s strait control fast boat fleets, sea mines, and coastal cruise missiles all at once. The greatest challenge here, however, lies in the mobile cruise missile batteries hidden deep within tunnels carved into the mountains. As Michael Connell, an analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, warned:
“Cruise missiles can be fired from hundreds of miles away and still hit ships passing through the strait.”
While U.S. heavy bombers pound this tunnel network, the task of intercepting mobile launchers that emerge from the tunnels and fire within seconds falls once again to the A-10’s “loiter” capability. The A-10, waiting patiently, instantly destroys the missile launcher emerging from the tunnel with a Maverick missile or Avenger cannon. Simultaneously, underground boat shelters on the islands of Kishm, Larak, and Hengam located directly over commercial shipping lanes are being destroyed by U.S. aircraft using penetrating JDAM bombs; the targets are buried directly inside the caves.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a global act of blackmail that would plunge the economies of the entire world—from Europe to Asia—into recession. Iran had planned to enter into a mandatory mutual dependency agreement with energy-starved nations. However, this ruthless kinetic response from the U.S. strikes at the heart of Iran’s global energy blackmail.
Land Invasion and the Shattering of Illusion
Making the Strait 100% safe for shipping is currently impossible. A single “lucky shot” that sinks a tanker would be enough to reignite oil prices. The Pentagon knows full well that air power alone cannot permanently clear the underground tunnels and islands. The bloody hunt currently being carried out by A-10s and Apaches is actually a preparation for the third and most critical phase of the war: “Land Invasion.”
Once the 31st MEU, currently en route from the Indo-Pacific, joins the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit advancing toward the Middle East, more than 4,000 U.S. Marines will be gathered off the coast of Hormuz. On President Donald Trump’s desk, plans for a direct amphibious assault on critical Iranian bases choking off the Strait of Hormuz such as Qeshm or Kharg Island are actively being considered.
One of the greatest ironies of modern military history is playing out in its most stark form. Iran’s new-generation asymmetric warfare doctrine, crafted at a cost of billions of dollars, has been crushed by 1970s-era armored aircraft, cheap rockets propelled by pure kinetic energy, and heavy machine guns spewing 3,900 rounds per minute. The United States has set aside the illusion of a “clean war” and has entered into a direct street brawl, unhesitating to get its hands dirty in the bloodstained waters of the Strait of Hormuz. The wreckage of 120 Iranian ships sunk in those waters stands as proof of just how ruthless this new doctrine is. The airstrikes are nearly over; now everyone is waiting for the marines appearing on the horizon.
