US cleared Hormuz mines. Iran may have found a new way to put them back

Dubai: Days after the United States declared that it had cleared sea mines from international shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran appears to have been preparing an unusual way of putting them back — by rocket.

US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel were observed preparing to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the strategic waterway, according to US Central Command.

The strikes have drawn attention to a little-known capability that could allow Iran to threaten shipping without sending mine-laying boats into waters patrolled by US forces.

The New York Times, examining the weapon after the US strikes, reported that an artillery rocket capable of releasing a mine into the water would be unusual and could give Tehran another way to cause chaos in Hormuz. The newspaper said it could not independently confirm CENTCOM’s account.

But Iran has previously demonstrated such a capability.

The Maritime Executive reported in January 2025 that, during naval exercises, Iran demonstrated a variant of its Fajr-5 rocket capable of dispensing a single free-floating mine into the water.

Iran has long maintained a large arsenal of naval mines, ranging from small limpet mines attached directly to ships to far larger weapons capable of seriously damaging vessels.

Conventionally, mines are laid by ships, submarines, aircraft or small boats. That can expose the vessels and crews deploying them to detection and attack.

A rocket changes the calculation.

The Fajr-5 is a 333mm artillery rocket fired from a mobile launcher. A mine-carrying version could allow Iranian forces to launch a mine from shore into the strait and then move the launcher.

That could be particularly useful as US forces target the fast boats Iran has traditionally relied upon for operations in the Gulf.

The rocket’s size also limits the weapon it can carry.

According to the New York Times, a mine fitting inside the 333mm Fajr-5 could contain only dozens of pounds of explosives — far less than larger naval mines carrying hundreds of pounds.

Such a weapon would be unlikely to sink the modern double-hulled tankers that dominate energy traffic through Hormuz.

But it does not have to.

A small mine could damage a warship, while fishing boats and other smaller vessels would face a more serious threat.

More importantly, rocket-delivered mines could drift.

Unlike larger mines anchored in place or resting on the seabed, these weapons could be pushed by winds and currents after entering the water, potentially moving into shipping routes, the open ocean or eventually washing ashore.

That unpredictability could make even a limited number disruptive.

The timing is significant.

President Donald Trump said on August 25 that mines had been cleared from international waters in Hormuz and warned that Iranian vessels attempting to lay new ones would be destroyed.

Iran therefore has an obvious incentive to find another way of getting mines into the water.

Launching them from land could reduce the need to send vulnerable boats into areas watched by US aircraft and warships.

It would not necessarily allow Tehran to seal the strait. But closing Hormuz completely may not be necessary to produce an economic effect.

Commercial vessels need confidence that their route is safe. The possibility of drifting mines can force searches and clearance operations, slow traffic and add another layer of uncertainty for shipping companies.

That makes the potential impact of the weapon much greater than the size of its explosive charge.

Washington had only just announced that internationally used shipping lanes had been cleared when CENTCOM said it spotted Iran preparing to put mines back into the water.

If the US account is correct, rocket-launched mines may give Tehran not a new way to close Hormuz — but another way to keep the world wondering whether it is truly open.