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World
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied Iran possesses suicide dolphins, while playfully refusing to rule out US military ownership of such animals.
Iran does not have "suicide dolphins," US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed during a press conference, though he declined to say the same about the American military. The denial came after a reporter asked whether Tehran possessed such marine mammals.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine responded first, saying, "I haven't heard of these suicide dolphins. They're like sharks with laser beams." The comment was a nod to a scene featuring Dr. Evil's shark tank from the 2002 film "Austin Powers in Goldmember."
Hegseth then interjected with a smile: "I can neither confirm nor deny whether we have suicide dolphins, but I can confirm that they — the Iranians — do not have them in the end."
The US Navy operates a specialized Marine Mammal Program that trains bottlenose dolphins and sea lions for tasks including "detecting, locating, identifying, and recovering objects" in ports, coastal zones, and open-ocean depths. Training of dolphins and sea lions began in 1959, with the program headquartered at Naval Base Point Loma since the 1960s under the management of the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific's Reconnaissance and Interdiction Division.
According to the program's description, dolphins are trained to search for and locate underwater mines that could threaten military or civilian vessels. Both dolphins and sea lions assist security personnel in detecting and apprehending unauthorized swimmers and divers who might attempt to harm Navy personnel, ships, or port facilities.
When asked whether the US Navy is currently using dolphins to help clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines planted by Iranian forces over the past two months, a source familiar with operations denied that to CNN.
