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Source: https://besacenter.org/avoiding-the-knife-fight-defeating-irans-strait-strategy/
Defeating Iran's Strait Strategy
(Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Cdr. (ret.) David Levy - Iran's strategy to close the Strait of Hormuz in the event of a major conflict with the U.S. has been well known for decades. The U.S. sidelined the Strait at the outset of the conflict, but the threat from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) must now be addressed. The IRGCN is built around shore-based anti-ship cruise missiles, naval mines, fast attack craft, and drones. The shore-based missiles are located in "missile cities" up to 500 meters underground, making U.S. strikes difficult. In an abundance of caution, the U.S. is actively hunting for mines that may have been laid. The U.S. Navy has four Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships in the region and two littoral combat ships which have been augmented with counter-mine capabilities. These forces have some of the most advanced mine-countermeasure resources, including unmanned undersea systems, helicopters, and divers. The MH-60S Seahawk can employ the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System to locate mines from the air and then help neutralize them. The Knifefish unmanned undersea vehicle can hunt mines below the surface. The IRGCN, though significantly degraded, still retains enough capability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait. However, rather than rush major naval forces into a confined battlespace built for attrition, Washington and Jerusalem widened the fight, dismantled key elements of Iran's military system, and then combined limited operations in and around the Strait with economic coercion and diplomatic pressure. The writer, a former U.S. Navy Commander, was the Director for Theater Security Cooperation for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.