Can Iran use rockets to mine the Strait of Hormuz, as US claims?

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkA video screen grab from March shows a projectile approaching what CENTCOM said was an Iranian naval vessel, during attacks on mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, March 10, 2026 [CENTCOM/Handout via REUTERS]By Al Jazeera StaffPublished On 31 Aug 202631 Aug 2026The 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.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran targets American bases in Jordan in retaliation to US strikeslist 2 of 4Mapping Iran war’s strikes on Gulf energy and its impact on future of oillist 3 of 4US plans to sanction another bank to keep economic pressure on Iranlist 4 of 4Iran, Oman agree on temporary Hormuz route: What we knowend of listCentral 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.Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in Iran, August 28, 2026 [Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters]Can sea mines be launched into the sea using rockets?Harlan Ullman, a retired senior US naval officer, told Al Jazeera that the US’s claim of rocket-launched mines was “implausible”. He suggested that the US may have received intelligence that Iran was prepared to use launchers from ships to deploy new mines but wanted to downplay the threat.“It would strike me that a rocket, when it impacts in the water…the impact would be such that it would do a lot of damage to the mines,” Ullman said.“They (Iran) have got a lot of options they could use to plant these mines. So I would like to know from CENTCOM why they think Iran was using rockets, which to me is very, very novel.”But Iran has itself advertised its ability to use missiles to lay sea mines.In January 2025, Iranian state television appeared to show the IRGC using the Fajr-5 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) to lay mines during naval exercises.It is a medium-range system primarily built to fire rockets with warheads and is mounted on trucks which can handle difficult terrain.How are sea mines usually deployed?Usually, mines are deployed using specialised surface warships, submarines or aircraft. They can be dropped to the seabed or moored slightly above the bottom, waiting to detect the magnetic signature or vibration of passing ships before detonating. Mines can also be positioned to bob just beneath the water surface, exploding when they come in contact with vessels.Iran is believed to have relied on its hoard of fast, small attack boats to drop an unknown number of explosives into the Hormuz waters before quickly speeding away. Many of these vessels have been struck by the US military.Last week, US President Donald Trump said CENTCOM had completed mine sweeping in the Strait of Hormuz, clearing it of mines. He warned Iran that ships or boats deploying new mines would be destroyed.To clear Hormuz of mines to make it safe for general shipping, CENTCOM would have needed to launch a painstakingly slow operation to find and trigger controlled detonations of every single mine, experts say. The US Navy typically uses its Avenger-class mine destroyers for mine sweeping operations as they’re built with materials that make their magnetic vibrations less detectable.What do we know about Iran’s Fajr-5 rocket system?Iran has long been known for its innovation in low-cost, high-impact tactics or asymmetric warfare.In January last year, according to Iranian news reports, the IRGC revealed a new sea mine-laying tactic during a naval exercise using the Fajr-5 MLRS from onshore to scatter mines in the sea.Analysts at the time called it “innovative” but also “concerning” as it meant the IRGC could now send thousands of mines over vast areas of water with a single launch.First developed in the 1990s, the Fajr-5 is a 333mm medium-range rocket system typically used to launch artillery rockets.The system can fire up to four artillery rockets from a mobile, multi-tube truck system. Each rocket is loaded with a 175kg fragmentation warhead designed to shatter into several fast-moving shrapnel fragments that can hit multiple targets. It has a firing range of about 75km (47 miles) and has primarily been used by ground forces to target airfields and military bases.But the 75km range also means that if deployed to lay sea mines, the Fajr-5 could cover the entire Strait of Hormuz.Newer variants, such as the Fajr-5c, are equipped with highly precise navigation systems and can fire rockets up to 130km (81 miles). How could Fajr-5 be used to lay sea mines?Iran has not confirmed that the Fajr-5 or any other rocket system is currently being used to deploy sea mines.In theory, the rocket’s warhead could be packed with sea mines, rather than explosives, as appeared to be demonstrated in the IRGC’s naval exercise in January 2025.Once launched from a truck on the coast, the mine-laden rockets would fly over targeted naval coordinates and open their casings mid-air.Unexploded sea mines would then be released into the air and dropped into the ocean. Attached to them would be small parachutes or other materials designed to slow their drop and allow for a soft landing, preventing them from detonating when they hit water.Once in the water, the mines would sink to the seabed or float under the surface.A single rocket launch could technically carry dozens, if not hundreds, of sea mines, spreading them across the narrow Strait of Hormuz.Such a tactic could overwhelm minesweeping operations, while keeping Iran’s fast boats from being attacked by CENTCOM forces.Who has aerial mine-laying capabilities?According to the US Navy, it already uses aircraft and launchers to deploy Quickstrike mines into the sea. This is a shallow-water mine made with a 2,000lb (907kg) bomb fitted with mine components, wing and tail kits for rapid mid-range precision delivery by US Navy and US Air Force warplanes. They can be launched over a range of 25km (40 miles) from beyond enemy air defences.Modern variants use Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) to enable aircraft to release mines with greater precision from much higher altitudes. According to the US Navy, JDAM is a guidance kit that can be added to an existing unguided bomb to turn it into a precision-guided, “smart” munition.So far, the US has used this tactic in training and testing exercises only, most recently in April, when the US Navy said it had tested a new guided munition, known as the GBU-75, capable of striking naval targets or deploying sea mines from aircraft hundreds of kilometres away.Experts say the US needs to speed up development of new ways to place mines in the sea, including by launching them from land.Writing for the US Naval Institute last year, US Navy Commander Adam Pace wrote: “It remains imperative to find a solution that can facilitate mine warfare while achieving survivability, desired volume and speed of delivery. Land-launched naval mining builds on established units and systems, such as Marine littoral regiments and the Army’s multidomain task forces, to expand the ability of land-based units to influence the maritime domain”.