Reports suggest that Iran is contemplating deploying dolphins equipped with mines to breach the Strait of Hormuz, which has been under a severe US military blockade for several weeks.
Amidst an uneasy ceasefire with the US, there is growing sentiment among Iranian hard-liners that the economic turmoil resulting from the US’s obstruction of Iran’s oil exports constitutes an act of war. Consequently, voices are rising in favor of resuming military operations.
Such military actions may involve deploying unconventional weapons against US naval forces in the area, including mine-laden dolphins, as indicated by Iranian officials and reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal also notes that Tehran might deploy submarines into the strategic waterway. Additionally, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard has issued warnings about severing essential communication cables running through the Strait, a move that could disrupt global internet services and heighten tensions.
Hamidreza Azizi, a Middle East expert at the Berlin-based SWP research institute, told the WSJ, “In Tehran, the blockade is increasingly perceived not as an alternative to war, but as a form of it.”
“This perception might lead Iranian leaders to conclude that reigniting conflict could be less burdensome than suffering under an extended blockade,” Azizi added.
