hchutch, the Iowas were accidents waiting to happen during their last recommissioning. They are sixty years old. Even laid up, they've aged badly.
Secondly, the Iowas have a maximum range of 25 miles on their main batteries, and they are none too accurate at that range. Silkworms can be located more than 25 miles inland and still cover the entire Gulf. They can use TLAM to attack from 1,500 miles away...but they can be fired from other ships as well.