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Source: https://x.com/SpencerGuard/status/2038072585892803009
U.S. Options in Iran
(X) Maj. (ret.) John Spencer - Destroying Iran's means to project power is a vital part of achieving the strategic goals of the U.S. and Israel. The U.S. has not run out of options. It has not even used all of them. Option: Strike the economic center of gravity. Kharg Island handles 85-90% of Iran's oil exports. Seize it, disable it, or destroy export capacity. That is strategic paralysis. Option: Turn off the lights. Target the national power grid. Tehran and major urban centers go dark. Modern regimes rely on electricity for command and control, communications, and internal security coordination. Precision strikes on key substations and transmission nodes can create cascading outages without total destruction of infrastructure. This has been demonstrated in past conflicts. Option: Turn off the internet for the regime, turn it on for the population, through cyber warfare. Option: Control the Strait of Hormuz battlespace. Seize or neutralize key islands. Deny Iran the ability to threaten maritime traffic. Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb Islands are critical terrain controlling access to the Strait. Qeshm Island hosts IRGC naval facilities, missile systems, and surveillance infrastructure. These positions enable Iran's anti-ship missile coverage, fast attack craft operations, and maritime coercion. Controlling or neutralizing these islands would fundamentally alter Iran's ability to contest the Strait. Option: Dismantle Iran's "toll booth" control of the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC has created a system where ships must be approved, routed through Iranian-influenced lanes, and in some cases pay up to $2 million per tanker. The U.S. and Israel have the capability to dismantle this system. Target the leadership directing it. Destroy the coastal radar; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) nodes; and command centers enabling it. Eliminate the fast attack craft, drones, and missile batteries enforcing it. Option: Seize or interdict all Iranian oil exports at sea. Stop and divert tankers leaving the Strait of Hormuz. Enforce a full maritime denial of regime revenue. The U.S. and partners have already seized sanctioned Iranian shipments and enforced maritime security operations in the Gulf. Be careful of analysts who rely on surface analogies. Iran is not Vietnam, Afghanistan, or Iraq. Past wars involved nation-building, attempts to create democracy, prolonged fights against insurgencies, and enemies who enjoyed sanctuary outside the operating environment. Those are not the same conditions at play here. The geography, technology, intelligence, and regional dynamics are different. The options available today are far broader and more precise against the objectives. The writer is chair of urban warfare studies at West Point's Modern War Institute.