u/JuliaMusto

A Pentagon press briefing took a strange turn Tuesday when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was asked about rumors of Iranian “kamikaze dolphins” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Though Hegseth said that Iran did not have dolphins strapped with explosives at their disposal, he also “[could not] confirm or deny” whether [the U.S.] has them.

While America’s military strategy in Project Freedom might not include kamikaze dolphins, experts have said the marine mammals are highly capable and dolphins have been used by the U.S. military for decades.

The marine mammals have been trained by the Navy to help detect mines - like those Iran has deployed in the Strait of Hormuz.