Analysts say it’s implausible but Iran is well-versed in adapting conventional weapons to suit its needs.
The United States broke a one-month lull in its war on Iran by striking military targets on Larak Island on Sunday, in what US officials claim was a bid to prevent Tehran from using rockets to deploy sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes were aimed at Iranian rocket launchers positioned on Larak Island in the strait. The US called the strikes a “limited, precise action” against mine-laying forces.
Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Tim Hawkins said the US military, which is currently blockading Iranian ports in and around Hormuz, had observed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines.
Iran’s leaders condemned the attack as an “act of aggression” and the IRGC has since launched retaliatory attacks on two US army bases in Jordan. In a statement, the IRGC said its members and civilians were killed in the US strikes. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said at least two people were killed and two injured.
But can mines really be laid using rockets? Here’s what we know.
