Iran makes a huge show of blowing up 'US aircraft carrier' in explosive TV spectacle

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39. The Persian Gulf is tiny, boats can get close enough by justing be in the Gulf

The Iranian Island of Qeshm is only 56 km (35 mi) from the United Arab Emirates on the South Bank of the Persian Gulf. Maximum depth of 90 meters and an average depth of 50 meters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qeshm

Iran has the most small islands in the Gulf:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_in_the_Persian_Gulf

The gulf itself is generally less then 120 miles from shore to shore, through in one spot is it over 200 miles from shore to shore. The problem is from an attacking speed boat point of view if the attacks occurs in the Straits of Hormuz, they generally only have to travel 15-20 miles. In that 15-20 miles the US force has to detect the Speed boats and then determine if they are peaceful or hostile and take action. Given that the Population on BOTH Sides of the Persian Gulf is Shiite and thus tend to support Iran (The Governments are Sunni and support Saudi Arabia and the US, but the people is a different story), it is possible for those gun boats to attack from BOTH sides of the Gulf.

On top of this is the Gulf is rich in fishing and transporting other goods. Thus you have a lot of Dhows sailing up and down both coasts and between both coasts all the time. Each dhow could be carrying a missile. Do you blast all of them? and get everyone in the Gulf mad at you, or do you just keep them away from the US Ships, but in a way they can still do the fishing and trading they have always done?

In one war game before the Invasion of Iraq, the Generals in Charge of "Defending" Iraq in that war, just armed dhols and sailed them all around the gulf. They armed hundreds of the Dhows, and sent other that were unarmed just to further confused the Carriers and their escorts and it so confused the Carriers and their Escorts that when the attack came, we "lost" all four Carriers in that war game.

That war game was one of reasons the US did all it could to keep Iran Neutral in that conflict. Iraq could not actually do such a maneuver (and Saddam Hussein did not have the support of the Shiite Fishermen of Southern Iraq to pull off such a maneuver himself). Iran and they close ally, post invasion Iraq. can do such an maneuver.

Thus the better plan for the US would be to keep the Carriers out in the Arabian Sea, till the US can secure the Persian Gulf and only then sent the Carriers into the Gulf. Tehran may be out of reach of US Carrier launched planes, but most of the Persian Gulf would NOT be. The could sent in the Gator Navy and see what the Iranians do. THE Gator Navy can then secure the southern coast of Iran (Launching some marines here and there, with air strikes from the Carriers on hiding spots for speed boats ad dhols.

In the Persian Gulf, if the Carrier and its escorts come under a combined Air, Land lunched missiles, speed boat launched missile and Dhow launched missiles, we could lose the whole fleet.

Now the real question can the Iranian do such an multifunctional attack? I do not know.

In 2005 the US Navy decided to sink the USS America while testing missiles and other methods to sink a Carrier. How those tests went would be a better idea then this sinking. Hopefully no one sold the results to the Russians (Who then turned them over to China and Iran). I bring it up for if the Iranians duplicated what the US did to the USS America it would be interesting. All ships can be sunk, the real issue is how much punishment and of what type would sink one.

Sinking of the USS America (NO jokes about the US Navy sinking America):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_America_%28CV-66%29