Iran rapidly bolsters retaliation capability in gulf, experts say

Source: The Washington Post

Iran is rapidly gaining new capabilities to strike at U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, amassing an arsenal of sophisticated anti-ship missiles while expanding its fleet of fast-attack boats and submarines, U.S. and Middle Eastern analysts say.

The new systems, many of them developed with foreign assistance, are giving Iran’s commanders new confidence that they could quickly damage or destroy U.S. ships if hostilities erupt, the officials say.

Although U.S. Navy officials are convinced that they would prevail in a fight, Iran’s advances have fueled concerns about U.S. vulnerabilities during the opening hours of a conflict in the gulf.

Increasingly accurate short-range missiles —combined with Iran’s use of “swarm” tactics involving hundreds of heavily armed patrol boats —could strain the defensive capabilities of even the most modern U.S. ships, current and former military analysts say.

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