The recent war between Iran and the United States should have confirmed a clear imbalance of military power. The United States possessed overwhelming advantages in conventional naval power, air power, surveillance, and sophisticated weapons. Iran could not hope to meet the United States symmetrically. Its conventional naval forces were badly damaged during the opening stages of the conflict, while American forces retained vastly greater aggregate combat power. By traditional standards of naval warfare, the result should have been decisive. For most of recorded history, destruction or neutralization of an enemy fleet opened the surrounding waters to the victor, permitting blockade,…