Strait of Hormuz is Iran’s trump card. Why has US superiority not secured the seas? |
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Strait of Hormuz is Iran’s trump card. Why has US superiority not secured the seas?
The US-Iran war is redrawing global sea trade routes.
On 22 January 2026, US President Donald Trump announced that a massive American naval armada was heading towards Iran. This came after weeks of speculation regarding the US response to the Iranian government’s crackdown on protestors. Military analysts and strategic observers identified this naval build-up as a precursor to an imminent war with Iran. The build-up of the US naval posture in the days leading up to the current hostilities clearly illustrated two critical attributes of the US Navy’s intended role. First, to spearhead offensive kinetic operations aimed at destroying strategic targets and degrading Iran’s capability to retaliate. Second, to support defensive operations across the region by strengthening air-defence grids for protecting vital US military infrastructure and its allies in West Asia.
Iran, on the other hand, despite possessing relatively modest naval capabilities, was expected to leverage its geographic positioning by threatening or attempting to block the Strait of Hormuz, thereby disrupting global energy shipping. Approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day—accounting for over 20 per cent of global consumption—pass through the Strait of Hormuz, making it one of the most critical global energy chokepoints. Iran’s success in potentially blocking this chokepoint was bound to create a major global shipping crisis, thereby generating international pressure on the US and its allies in the region.
As the war has progressed beyond a fortnight, it can be observed that the hostilities in the maritime theatre have manifested largely in line with the naval strategies of both belligerents. The naval efforts of both sides have been directed towards achieving their strategic objectives that were anticipated before the outbreak of hostilities. The US, while succeeding in destroying most of Iran’s major naval assets, including several frontline warships, has not fully managed to prevent attacks on neutral shipping or the disruption of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, on the other hand, despite suffering major losses of its naval capability within the initial days of the War, has managed to exert substantial pressure on the US by relentlessly targeting shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This brief assesses the evolving dynamics of the maritime theatre of the ongoing conflict.
Map 1. Maritime Theatre of the 2026 Iran War
Initial US Naval Blitz
In the week following President Trump’s announcement of the mobilisation of a US naval armada towards Iran, the Carrier Strike Group–3 (CSG-3), led by Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, was redirected from the South China Sea towards the Gulf of Oman. Meanwhile, Carrier Strike Group–12 (CSG-12), led by the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, was redeployed from the Caribbean Sea to the Mediterranean Sea towards the coast of Israel. It must be noted that the USS Gerald R. Ford is the largest warship ever built. As these CSGs reached their respective operational positions by the last week of February, their intended missions became evident. The CSG-3 was to spearhead the US offensive kinetic action against Iranian naval assets in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The mission of CSG–12 was to support and supplement Israel’s offensive and defensive operations against Iran.
Upon the outbreak of the war, the US Navy swiftly targeted the Iranian Navy’s frontline assets and naval bases. As per initial reports from open-source media, at least 11 frontline vessels were destroyed or damaged in these early strikes. This included the Iranian Navy’s largest warships, such as its forward base ship, IRIS Makran, and its drone carrier, IRIS Shahid Bagheri. Subsequently, on 4 March 2026, a Los-Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine of the US Navy, USS Charlotte,........