Iran's Navy Announces Deployment of 'Gulf Dolphins' in the Deep Sea

The commander of Iran's naval forces, Shahram Irani, said that light submarines of the army, dubbed the "Gulf Dolphins", have been deployed in the Strait of Hormuz to confront "hostile battleships".

Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted Admiral Irani as saying, "Locally manufactured light submarines, commensurate with threats, capabilities and needs, are on standby and are stationed on the seabed in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, and are in the process of deployment."

Admiral Irani added that "positioning on the seabed in the deep water in the Strait of Hormuz corridor for long periods, and tracking and destroying various types of enemy ships, are among the capabilities of the light submarines of the Army's naval forces. These submarines are known in the everyday language of their officers and non-commissioned officers as the Dolphins of the Persian Gulf."

He continued: "Gulf dolphins appeared on the surface of the water, to show the naval defense power of our country, in the strait, and after demonstration maneuvers, they dived into the depths of the sea to continue the tasks assigned to them."

The term "Gulf dolphins" in military and media discourse carries two completely different connotations: the first is modern and official refers to an actual naval force within Iran's capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz, and the second is historical, which was associated with a rumor that sparked a wide debate about the use of marine mammals in combat operations.

Iranian Dwarf Submarines

The "Gulf Dolphins" are the dwarf and light submarines developed by Tehran domestically, led by the Ghadir and Fateh submarines.

The commander of the Iranian army's naval forces, Admiral Shahram Irani, stressed that this title has become part of the operational culture within the navy, and reflects the ability of these submarines to maneuver in the shallow environment of the Strait of Hormuz, where it is difficult for large naval vessels to operate or maneuver.

These submarines are stationed on the seabed for long periods, carry out close surveillance tasks of the movement of warships, follow enemy units in complete silence, and prepare to intercept or attack them if necessary.

It is seen as one of Iran's most important tools in asymmetric naval warfare, due to its small size and difficulty in detecting it with radar, in addition to arming it with offensive capabilities that include naval mines and high-speed torpedoes such as the "Whale" torpedo, which is why the "Gulf Dolphins" are an essential part of Iran's maritime deterrence strategy in the Strait of Hormuz.

Rumor of 'suicide dolphins'

 The term "Gulf dolphins" came to light after Western reports — most notably in the Wall Street Journal — that Iran may have a military program to train real dolphins to carry explosive mines to attack U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The reports were based on a real-life incident dating back to 2000, when Iran bought a set of Russian-trained dolphins that were part of a former Soviet program to train marine mammals to detect divers and mines in the Black Sea.

Although this incident was a fertile ground for the spread of the rumor, the US Department of Defense was quick to officially deny it, with Secretary Pete Hegsey confirming that Iran does not have any active program to train dolphins for combat missions, explaining that the dolphins obtained by Tehran more than two decades ago have aged or died, and that Western reports have confused the military nickname given to Iranian submarines with real animals.