U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday that it had carried out a series of strikes on fortified Iranian positions designed to control maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Hours ago, U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the… pic.twitter.com/hgCSFH0cqO
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 17, 2026
Hours ago, U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait.
To fully understand what this means, let's take a look at the battlespace.
Clearing Hormuz: the battlefield pic.twitter.com/TFFsHx2OBy
— streiff (@streiffredstate) March 18, 2026
The key area is where the shipping channel passes between Iran and Oman. At its narrowest point, it is 21 miles wide. Outbound (that is, westbound) traffic uses the northern half of the channel; inbound traffic the southern half.
The city of Bandar Abbas is the main Iranian navy base on Hormuz. Three islands sitting astride the eastern exit from the shipping channel, Abu Musa, Tunb as Sughra (Greater Tunb), and Tunb al Kubra (Lesser Tunb) were seized by Iran in 1971. The UAE stills claims those islands and most of the nations in the region recognize the UAE's claim. A decision has been pending before the UN since 1980. All of the Iranian islands should be considered as military installations. They house small boats for mining operations, shipping attacks, and potentially anti-ship missiles. Abu Musa, in particular, is known to be heavily fortified.
Allegedly, Iran has a "layered defense." It relies on
- Small boats, including USVs like those used to attack six vessels in Iraqi waters.
- Coastal emplaced anti-ship missiles.
- Mines.
Surface-to-air missiles.- Drones.
- Mobile missile launchers.
Submarines.
Mines seem to be out of the picture for the moment as Iran doesn't want to lose the oil revenue and China doesn't want to lose the oil. Even without the political considerations, U.S. airpower has ensured that any attempt to mine today will not look like 1987-88 again; see US Launches Air Campaign to Stop Iranian Plan to Close Strait of Hormuz – RedState.
Yesterday strikes were aimed at heavily dug in anti-ship missiles. Some rather loud an uninformed commenters on X have made a big deal about these but, to quote General George S. Patton, Jr., “Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man. Anything built by man, can be destroyed by him.” Any missile system has to have unobstructed access to the surface, or it isn't really a missile. The opening that lets a missile out also lets "deep penetrator munitions" in.
The first of these three videos gives an amazing, close-up view of what a strike by deep penetrator bombs looks like.
Surreal moments captured in Iran
— Basha باشا (@BashaReport) March 16, 2026
1) Bunker buster close up
2) Basij inside a school yard
3) Car dash cam close up pic.twitter.com/bjZol5M9gc
There are also reports that missile storage sites were targeted.
BREAKING : Big success for the U.S. & Israeli Forces. An Iranian underground missile storage facility was successfully targeted & destroyed using bunker buster bombs near the Strait of Hormuz. Over 200 Khorramshahr ballistic missiles were stored there and now became dust. pic.twitter.com/xrA1KVDo6n
— Baba Banaras™ (@RealBababanaras) March 18, 2026
The importance of these systems is that they remove any over-the-horizon missile threat facing the USS Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, now steaming toward the Persian Gulf; Up to 2,500 Marines Are Headed to the Persian Gulf As Iranian Blockade of Hormuz Takes Center Stage – RedState.
When you couple this with the Israeli demolition of the IRGC Navy headquarters the same day, you can see that not only are the weapons being destroyed but the command-and-control facilities that could coordinate any defense of the Strait of Hormuz are also being eradicated.
By the time the Marines arrive, mobile launchers will also have been neutralized. My guess is that the Marine Expeditionary Unit will have the mission of sanitizing the Iranian islands and coastline of drones and other such nonsense before withdrawing back to their ships.
For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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