US Strikes Target Iranian Revolutionary Guard to Weaken Coastal Military Capabilities

American airstrikes on Iranian sites have reached a critical phase, concentrating on reducing the Revolutionary Guard's capacity to utilize coastal regions for launching attacks and interfering with maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Central Command stated that the ninth wave of strikes targeted "Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, missile and drone launch platforms, and communication networks."

It affirmed that these operations "aim to continue diminishing Iran's ability to attack ships and sailors in the Strait of Hormuz" and are conducted "to hold Iran accountable in accordance with directives from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces."

The targeted locations stretch from Khuzestan in the west, through Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, and islands near the Strait of Hormuz, extending eastward to Jask, Konarak, and Chabahar. This area includes coastal surveillance points, air defenses, missile and drone installations, fast boats, naval capabilities, as well as bridges, tunnels, railways, ports, and aviation facilities.

This operational map presents a coherent objective: to weaken Iran's ability to monitor and militarily utilize its coastline and to connect its deployed units along the coast with its inland territory. However, it does not indicate a US decision to occupy the islands or to strike oil export terminals.

The coastline and the Strait of Hormuz are central to these attacks because the strait serves as the choke point linking the Gulf to the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea. At its narrowest, the strait measures no more than 29 nautical miles. In 2025, approximately 20 million barrels per day of oil and petroleum products will pass through it, representing nearly a quarter of global seaborne oil trade.

Countries such as Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain rely heavily on the strait for the majority of their oil exports.

Therefore, disabling coastal surveillance, anti-ship missiles, and fast boats has implications beyond a local conflict; it targets Iran’s ability to influence maritime navigation and energy markets.

Washington states its declared goal is to reduce Iran's capacity to threaten commercial vessels, but controlling the strait simultaneously requires limiting Tehran’s ability to detect naval movements and direct fire against them.

Bandar Abbas is especially sensitive due to the convergence of Iran's largest commercial port with naval facilities of the military and Revolutionary Guard on the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Central Command emphasizes that its strikes are precise and aim to incapacitate the Revolutionary Guard’s ability to use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage to disrupt international trade.