Adm. James “Ace” Lyons, who died last year at 91, was angry.

Charged with drawing up a war plan in 1979 to compel the Islamic Republic of Iran to release the 52 hostages it had taken, Lyons sought to impose maximum pressure on the regime. Revolution, hostage-taking, and the departure of foreign investors had decimated their economy. What little cash Iran had came from oil, most of which it exported from a few off-shore terminals. More than 90% of Iranian oil exports came from the Kharg Island terminal, for example. Lyons’ idea was simple: Take Iranian oil infrastructure offline and blockade Iranian ports until revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini released American hostages. Seizing key ports to compel a change of Iranian policy was an idea with historical precedent dating back to the 1856-57 Anglo-Persian War.