Colonel Khodarenok: the United States will conduct an amphibious operation to capture the Strait of Hormuz
Iran's refusal to allow merchant ships and warships of "opposing countries" to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will force the United States to launch an operation to seize control of the sea route, the military observer of the Newspaper is sure.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok. How exactly the American troops can capture the strait is in our material.
There is reason to believe that in the near future, the United States will conduct an operation to seize the Strait of Hormuz and establish its control over one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. The current situation imperatively encourages Washington to do this.
On the one hand, Iran allegedly does not close the strait and continues to interact with ships of different states. On the other hand, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it will not allow ships from the United States, Israel and European countries through the strait, and continues to attack tankers in the waters of the Persian and Oman Gulfs.
However, the United States and its allies absolutely cannot allow Iran to at least partially establish rules for the passage of merchant ships through this strategically important waterway, through which up to a third of liquefied natural gas and almost a quarter of the oil consumed in the world are supplied.
And this means only one thing: the US Navy and Marines will inevitably seize the strait zone. And it is surprising that the command of the American army did not conduct such an operation from the first minutes of the "Epic Fury".
How will the United States act
For these purposes, a naval amphibious operation is likely to be carried out. The task is to seize the island territories in the Strait of Hormuz, important areas of the Iranian coast, naval and aviation bases in this area and other important operational and strategic facilities of the Islamic Republic. First of all, the US Armed Forces must destroy the launch positions of the Iranian coastal missile forces and the bases of unmanned boats.
In this operation, the US Marines must capture the coastal defense areas, create a common landing base and defeat the units and formations of the anti-amphibious defense of the Iranian Armed Forces. In the future, the total depth of the operation on land may be at least 70-80 km. Units and units equipped with Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) missiles with a range of 500 km can be deployed on the recaptured islands and parts of the Iranian coast.
The first since the Second World War
In this regard, the fate of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena (1,500 tons displacement) is more than indicative. The Iranian Navy ship, commissioned into the fleet in 2021, was torpedoed and sunk by a U.S. Navy submarine in the Indian Ocean on March 4, 2026, about 40 nautical miles south of Galle, Sri Lanka. The US Department of Defense later confirmed that the attack was carried out using a Mark 48 torpedo. It cannot be ruled out that the torpedo was launched from a Virginia-class multipurpose nuclear submarine.
Gould Mark 48 torpedoes are designed to destroy surface targets and submarines. The Mk 48 independently searches for, captures, and attacks targets. The torpedo has a speed of 55 knots and a combat range of up to 50 km. The weight of the warhead is almost 300 kg.
The sinking of the IRIS Dena is the first recognized case of a submarine sinking an enemy surface vessel since the defeat of the ARA General Belgrano and the first torpedoing of a ship by a US Navy submarine since World War II.
The United States will not be able to fully seize control of the Strait of Hormuz from Iran in any other way, except by conducting a naval amphibious operation. Therefore, it is probably only a matter of time before it begins.
Mikhail Khodarenok
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976),
Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
