00:00In one afternoon, the U.S. Navy obliterated half of Iran's entire fleet.
00:04This was America's largest naval battle since World War II, and it changed the Middle East forever.
00:10It started when the USS Samuel B. Roberts hit a mine in the Persian Gulf.
00:14Ten sailors were badly burned, and the ship was nearly split in two.
00:18The U.S. didn't just fire back, they launched Operation Praying Mantis.
00:22It was a surgical, brutal, and massive retaliatory strike that caught Tehran completely off guard.
00:27American warships didn't just target the ships, they dismantled Iran's surveillance platforms and destroyed their modern frigates.
00:34In just a few hours, the U.S. Navy proved they could wipe out an entire nation's naval capability without
00:40breaking a sweat.
00:41It forced Iran to the negotiating table, effectively ending the eight-year Iran-Iraq war.
00:47But here's the twist. The defeat forced Iran to abandon traditional naval warfare.
00:51They realized they couldn't beat the U.S. in a fair fight, so they pivoted to the swarm tactics and
00:57asymmetric threats we see in the Gulf today.
00:59Operation Praying Mantis proved the U.S. would use overwhelming force to protect its interests.
01:05Was this a necessary act of defense, or did it just create a more dangerous, unpredictable enemy?
01:10Let me know what you think.
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