The term “kamikaze dolphins” is not one hears that often, but that is exactly what War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed in Tuesday’s media briefing.
The two responded to reports of Iran using “kamikaze dolphins” in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has restricted passage through the strait as a way to strain the global economy. To that end, energy prices have surged as Americans paying more at the gas pump. Iran has also placed mines in the water; officials predict it could take six months to remove them.
The use of “kamikaze dolphins” was mentioned last week in a report in The Wall Street Journal.
“Iranian officials said Tehran could use previously unused weapons to attack U.S. warships, from submarines to mine-carrying dolphins,” the report read. “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to step up escalation by cutting phone cables in the Strait of Hormuz, which would disrupt internet traffic globally.”
On Tuesday, Daily Wire correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan asked Hegseth to clarify the report that Iran could use “kamikaze dolphins” to block the strait.
Caine claimed he wasn’t aware of the report and said, “Like sharks with laser beams, right?”
“And I can’t confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don’t,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, any follow-on effort, if there are mines identified, would be something that some of our units could undertake or the world could undertake. But right no,w we know we have a lane of safe passage that commercial shipping can flow through.”
