Iranian missile reports and US Navy standoff

Have reported close approaches by Iranian anti-ship missiles pushed US ships farther away?

That explanation is disputed, with operating range and resupply proposed as alternatives.

The claim that Iranian missiles forced US ships farther away is disputed. Operating at distance when a closer approach is unnecessary offers an alternative explanation. Remaining beyond an opponent's detection and engagement reach is itself a defensive use of geography. Missile resupply is proposed as a more pressing explanation for some movements, without independently establishing that cause. A separate conjecture links limited public detail to funding incentives and concern about drawing conclusions about Chinese weapons from Iranian performance. The number of weapons evaded and the difficulty of those engagements remain unspecified. Clarke's remarks about Iranian performance falling below promotional claims are explicitly secondhand and uncertain.