Several countries, such as the Soviet Union, the United States or North Korea, will have programs to train dolphins to attack enemy ships. The idea was discussed again in the context of the conflict with Iran.
A curious question arose at the Pentagon press conference on May 5th, in the midst of the usual questions about the United States and Israel’s war against Iran:
“Iran is using suicidal dolphins?”
A reporter for the American newspaper The Daily Wire asked United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to explain “reports about the use of kamikaze dolphins” in the conflict.
“I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of our own suicidal dolphins, but I can confirm that they do not have any“, declared Hegseth.
General Dan Kaine, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, also spoke in this regard.
“It seems like the story of sharks equipped with laser beamsno?”, he replied.
The comments made reference to a report published five days earlier by the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, with the headline “Iran desperately seeks a solution to the American blockade that it cannot break”.
The publication highlights that the American naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz made clear the shortcomings of the Iranian strategy to control that important sea route and that Iran was looking for a way to overcome them.
“Iranian officials said Tehran could use weapons it had never used before, from submarines to dolphins equipped with mines to attack American warships,” according to the report.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to intensify tensions, cutting fiber optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz, which would disrupt global internet traffic.”
Long history
The military use of dolphins may seem absurd, but it is a practice that has existed for decades.
The BBC reported 26 years ago that the Iran had purchased suicide dolphins from Ukraine.
The report reported that Tehran had acquired animals trained by members of the extinct Soviet navy. But at that time, it was not known for sure what they would do in the Persian Gulf.
Russian experts had trained dolphins and other aquatic mammals to attack enemy boats and divers. But, due to budget cuts following the collapse of the Soviet Union (1922-1991), many of them were transferred to a private collection, in order to put on shows for tourists.
His main instructor, both military and civilian, was called Boris Zhurid. He began his career as a submarine officer and later graduated from medical school.
At that time, it was claimed that he would have sold all the aquatic animals to Iran because it could not pay for its food and maintenance.
“If I were a cruel person, I could stay in Sevastopol [na península da Crimeia, sob controlo da Ucrânia até 2014]but I can’t watch my animals go hungry,” Zhurid told the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda at the time.
“Your medicines They cost thousands of dollars and are already sold out.“, he explained. “And we no longer have fish, nor food supplements.”
A report from that time, published by the BBC, stated that a total of 27 animals were transported from Sevastopol to the Persian Gulf in a transport plane. They included porpoises, sea lions, seals and a beluga whale, as well as dolphins.
Zhurid trained four dolphins and a beluga at a naval base in the Pacific Ocean, until they were transported to Crimea in 1991. The animals were trained to attack enemy divers with harpoons attached to their backs or drag them to the surface to be captured.
Dolphins could also attack enemy ships with suicide attackscarrying mines that exploded upon impact against the hull. It is said that these dolphins knew how to differentiate Soviet submarines from foreign ones, by the sound of their respective propellers.
Komsomolskaya Pravda reported at the time that Zhurid’s research was essentially military in nature and described dolphins as “mercenaries”.
“In fact, Iran bought our Ukraine’s ancient secret weapon at fire-sale price,” the newspaper declared.
The post also noted that in the past, the United States had opposed Russian military sales to Iran.
Zhurdi declared, at the time, that he was unaware of the mission to be carried out by his dolphins, but stated that “would follow God or even the devilas long as my animals were okay.”
Besides Russia, the only other country known to train dolphins for military purposes are the USAwho manage a marine mammal program in San Diego, California.
But in recent years, similar programs have been unofficially reported in some countries, such as North Korea.
Satellite images show the existence of aquariums for dolphins in the country, which has sparked speculation about the possibility that Pyongyang is carrying out a similar program.
But Russia and the United States continue to have the oldest and most advanced programs for the military use of marine mammals.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has increased its use of military dolphins in the port of Sevastopol, to combat enemy divers and protect its naval fleet in the Black Sea.
“They obey orders, except when it comes to music”
The former president of Iran Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1934-2019) governed the country between 1989 and 1997.
In his memoirs, Reforms in Times of Crisis, he described a visit made in 1990 to the place where animals brought from the former Soviet Union were taken.
“We visited Mr. Hossein Sabet’s hotel park, in the southeast of the island [de Kish]”, says Rafsanjani. “The works to condition its green areas are progressing satisfactorily.”
“The marine animal tanks are also in the finishing phase; several tanks are already in operation and were imported from Ukraine several elephants and sea lions, as well as dolphins.”
“A group of Ukrainians who used to take care of those animals accompany us, to prepare and train the Iranians. During the visit to the pools, the caretaker of each animal showed us the skills they had learned; It was very interesting”, says the former president.
Rafsanjani denied in his memoirs accusations of military use of marine mammals.
“A general gave good explanations”, he continued in the book. “He denied the news published by the Western pressstating that those animals had received military training to lay or deactivate sea mines, and that Iran had purchased them for this purpose.”
“He added that we had filed a complaint with the Court, which would take action soon. And he explained that the Most people live for around 40 years and that they have several offspring throughout their lives. Their diet consists of fish, shrimp and other marine animals.”
Rafsanjani highlighted that “elephant seals weigh up to two tons, sea lions up to one ton, and whales up to three tons. And they are harmless to humans.”
“The animals can remain submerged for two to seven minutes, but the seals can last up to 45 minutes.”
“The majority were brought from the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean and it is necessary to cool the water in the pools in the summer”, continues the former president. “The catfish constantly scraped its body with its fins.”
In the last years of his life, Rafsanjani held several positions, such as the presidency of the Assembly of Experts, which is the body responsible for electing the country’s supreme leader.
“They are all intelligent, they take orders from their caregivers well and carry them out. But when it came to playing music, the dolphins didn’t obey. They will probably become a popular attraction,” he concluded.
