“They blew the hell out of Bahrain.” That was acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao’s assessment last month of the damage Iranian missiles have done to Naval Support Activity Bahrain — the base inside the Persian Gulf that served for decades as the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. He wasn’t exaggerating. Two weeks earlier, the Navy’s top admiral, Daryl Caudle, told sailors evacuated from NSA-Bahrain that “We’re not getting back in there anytime soon.”

An important debate has begun about the future of NSA-Bahrain and other U.S. bases damaged by Iranian missiles. Should they be rebuilt, downsized, or abandoned due to their vulnerability? Before answering, however, U.S. officials must first confront a difficult new reality highlighted by the war: The decision about whether the Navy returns to the Gulf is no longer Washington’s alone to make. With its newfound ability to impede access to the Strait of Hormuz, Iran now has a vote and every incentive to use it.