The Dreaded Persian Gulf Naval War

A blue-water navy fighting a green-water war;

William Walter Kay BA JD ——Bio and Archives--March 8, 2026

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On March 4th (no pun intended) US War Secretary Pete Hegseth proclaimed:

“The Iranian Navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf.”

CENTCOM Commander Cooper parrots Hegseth’s sentiments; as does Trump.

Assessing this assertion requires investigating Iranian naval strength and the arena for which this navy was designed.

The Persian Gulf spans 250,000 square kilometers. Its northernmost point, the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab river, divides Iran and Iraq. A thousand kilometers southeast lays the Strait of Hormuz. The Gulf widens to 340 kilometers then narrows to 55 kilometers through the Strait. Some 130 islands bejewel the Gulf; notably Bahrain, and an archipelago of Iranian islands (including the 1,500 square kilometer, Qeshm) guarding the Strait’s northern entrance.

The Gulf has thrice Lake Superior’s area, but a third its depth. Its maximum depth is merely 95 meters. Average depth is 50 meters. Broad coastal swaths are too shallow for large vessels. The whole Gulf is off limits for US subs. The Gulf’s sonar-confounding acoustical environment bedevils all but the Iranians.

Iran divides its naval forces into three commands: a) Iranian Navy; b) Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy; and, c) Basij Navy. The latter, a volunteer force numbering 60,000, utilizes thousands of fishing boats and pleasure craft. The former two, combined, marshal 50,000 sailors to operate 180 conventional naval vessels, and 5,000 weaponized speedboats.

Iran’s three Russian-made attack submarines hit 37 kilometers per hour (km/h) while submerged. They carry 18 torpedoes or 24 sea-mines along with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. Diesel-electric engines allow all Iranian subs to run on batteries for considerable distances, providing stealthiness that baffles even the US Navy. Iran’s large home-built Fateh subs also carry mines and torpedoes. There were three Fatehs – one is........

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