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 sunk.

A greater underwater threat comes from Iran’s two dozen midget subs, notably the Ghadir class. Ghadirs are 29 meters long, carry 7 man crews, and sport 2 torpedo tubes. One Ghadir is gone.

Iran’s semi-submersible torpedo boats pose another underwater challenge. These 21-meter craft skim the surface at 95 km/h, then slip beneath the waves to prowl undetectably at 20 km/h.

Can Iran’s midget subs and semisubmersibles launch supercavitation torpedoes? Iran’s only known supercavitation torpedo – the Hoot – may be too wide or heavy for them.

Supercavitation torpedoes redirect rocket engine exhaust through vents in their nosecones. Extremely hot gas envelops the torpedo in a bubble (cavity) through which the torpedo glides drag-free. Hoots hit 370 km/h. US torpedoes max-out a 75 km/h.

The US Navy possesses no midget subs, semisubmersible torpedo boats, or supercavitation torpedoes! A blue-water navy faces a green-water war.

Iran’s frigate fleet consisted of three 1970s British constructs plus 5 homemade Moudges. The latter displace 1,500 tonnes yet do 56 km/h loaded with surface-to-air, and anti-ship, missiles. Iran has lost three frigates.

Iran’s 30 “fast attack craft” vary from 40 to 50 meters in length, and displace between 200 and 300 tonnes. They slice the brine at 65 km/h armed with missiles and autocannons. Alongside these sail dozens of 15-to-30 tonne fighting ships. These are fast (95 km/h) vessels designed for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore combat. Their sea-skimming cruise missiles range up to 300 kilometers at speeds approaching Mach 1.

Persian pension for pontoons manifests in 4 Shahid Soleimani corvettes. These novel 67-meter catamarans cruise at 60 km/h bristling with weaponry and helicopters. (Iran entered the war with 150 helicopters. Twenty have been blasted.) For air defense these corvettes sport: 16 surface-to-air missiles, chaff generators, and advanced electronic warfare gadgetry. Two Soleimanis have been destroyed.

Iran also has one older, larger, slower missile catamaran; plus one newer, smaller, faster model equipped to launch vertical takeoff drones.

Iranian “sea bases” are converted oil tankers stacked with missiles, drones, anti-aircraft artillery, and helicopters. They had four; now they have three.

Ubiquitous on Iran’s capital ships are 30mm and/or 76mm autocannons. The 30mm burns through a 500-round belt in half a minute. It has a surface range of 6.5 kilometers and an anti-aircraft range of 4 kilometers. The 76mm empties its 85-round magazines in 50 seconds. Cartridges weigh 6 kg. Half-pound projectiles hit aircraft 7 kilometers high, and surface targets 16 kilometers distant. (Most US bases lay within 16 kilometers of the Gulf coastline.)

For amphibious landings Iran’s Navy operates 30 air-cushioned, hard-bottomed landing craft. IRGC’s 5 landing ships each carry 140 troops and 9 battle tanks. Complementing this amphibious fleet are hundreds of submersible and semisubmersible armored vehicles.

Iran had 40+ auxiliary ships (tankers, cargo craft, supply vessels etc.). Several have been sunk.

Speedboats are fast, maneuverable vessels displacing under 10 tonnes. The pride of IRGC’s 5,000-speedboat fleet is the Heydar. These little catamarans clock in at 203 km/h – freighted with guided missiles. Their Ashuras are 7-meter-long, 1-tonne affairs capable of 170 km/h. The more common Serij tops out at 140 km/h.

Most speedboats bear .50 caliber machine guns and 12-barrel 107mm unguided rocket launchers. The latter may prove effective attacking coastal targets. Americans dread that .50 cal.

WWII battleships had foot-thick hulls. Modern warships have hull thicknesses of 10-to-13mm. A fifty caliber armor-piercing bullet (full metal jacket/steel core) penetrates 20mm of steel at 500 meters. One Iranian speedboat could disable any US warship. A swarm could destroy any US warship in seconds.

In coastal tunnels lurk an armada of air defense speedboats. Iran mass produces these marvels with indigenous technology. Their preferred weapon, Nawab missiles, are also mass produced with Iranian tech.

Vertical takeoff allows Nawabs to attack in any direction. A 20-kilometer range, and a proximity-burst shrapnel warhead, accentuates their threat. (Larger Iranian surface-to-air missiles, like the Sayyad, can be sea-launched, albeit not from speedboats.)

Iranian naval doctrine centers on denying access to the Gulf. Here, the most effective weapon is the sea-mine, of which Iran boasts several thousand. These include mines that rest on the seabed and fire torpedoes upwards, and submersed guided mines that drift imperceptibly into pathways. Iran has purpose-built minelayers, but mines can be laid by midget subs or speedboats.

Apart from the unarmed frigate, Dena, torpedoed off Sri Lanka (while returning from a parade) all Iranian naval losses occurred during Hegseth’s opening “alpha attack.” (War fog surrounds a Soleimani corvette allegedly destroyed March 4.) The Dena was the only vessel attacked while moving. The others were moored near the now bombed-out Bandar Abbas, Konarak and Chah Bahar naval yards. Zero Iranian vessels lay on the bottom of the Persian Gulf. Vessels inside the Gulf on February 28 now hide in subterranean fortifications along Iran’s 1,800-kilometer Gulf, and Gulf island, coastline.

Iranians closed the Strait. Americans must open it. On or about February 28, Iran lost 11 capital ships and 20 ancillary vessels. (The count keeps rising due to creative bomb damage assessments, not new attacks.) Said losses don’t equal 2% of Iran’s naval power… and Pete’s doing victory laps.

This article arises from online sleuthing and reverse engineering of Google AI and Wikipedia which usually leads to Janes, Global Security.org, Nuclear Threat Initiative etc. Data is dated. For instance, the common 3,000-to-5,000 guestimate of IRGC speedboat numbers traces to a six-year-old Economist article. As Iran has built plenty since, I went with 5,000. I’ve made similar adjustments elsewhere. Google AI exaggerates Iranian naval losses. Strangely, however, under persistent cross-examination Google AI admits to lying and apologizes!?!

William Walter Kay, Ecofascism.com

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