Overview
- At a Pentagon briefing Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he could not confirm or deny any U.S. use of explosive-laden dolphins and asserted there is no evidence Iran employs them.
- Gen. Dan Caine joked the idea was like “sharks with laser beams,” and officials stressed the escort effort known as Project Freedom is a limited defensive mission to keep a shipping lane open in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Commanders described a safety corridor supported by guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, and roughly 15,000 personnel to guide over 22,500 mariners on about 1,550 vessels out of the gulf.
- The reports stem from a Wall Street Journal account that Iranian officials discussed mine-carrying dolphins, yet there is no verified Iranian program and the dolphins Tehran reportedly bought in 2000 would be beyond service age.
- Coverage revived the U.S. Navy’s marine mammal program dating to 1959, which trains dolphins and sea lions to find and mark mines rather than act as weapons, while online reaction included an Iranian consulate meme mocking the claims.