Iran has given the US Navy a logistical nightmare — The New York Times

Iran has given the US Navy a logistical nightmare. This is reported by The New York Times.

According to the publication, Iran's actions led to a serious malfunction in the logistics system of the US Navy in the region, which created a "logistical nightmare."

A significant grouping of US forces is involved in the Middle East region, which requires enormous resources. Approximately 20 ships, including two aircraft carriers and 12 destroyers. About 20,000 sailors and Marines. To maintain the group's combat capability, more than 420,000 servings of food and approximately 8 million gallons of fuel are needed.

On February 28, 2026, Iran struck a key logistics base of the US Navy in Bahrain. According to estimates, damage was caused to the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet, warehouses, barracks and other facilities.

The remaining ports in the area of responsibility, which could receive aircraft carriers and supply ships, are located in the zone of destruction of Iranian missiles and drones, which makes their use virtually impossible.

Due to the loss of the nearest bases, the US Navy is forced to improvise. Supply ships carry out refueling and cargo transfer directly in the open ocean. These complex and dangerous operations (ships go side by side at a distance of about 45 meters) now have to be carried out every 5-6 days.

Supplies are now coming from remote locations. The main route is to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean (about 2200 miles). Singapore is being considered as an alternative, which is about 3,700 miles away via the Strait of Malacca.

This situation creates a tremendous burden on ships and personnel. The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln spent almost 9 months at sea without calling at ports, which led to a shortage of supplies, problems with water, plumbing and a deterioration in crew morale.

The operation has no clear deadlines for completion, and extremely long campaigns undermine the combat capability and exhaust the teams, the newspaper concludes.