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By Gayne C. Young
Iran doesn’t have Kamikaze dolphins. But the U.S. might.
This information came to light after “The Wall Street Journal” ran a piece on April 30, 2026, that suggested Iran could start using dolphins to deliver mines to U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz. A host of news agencies, including Fox News and the “New York Post,” ran with the story and the public’s interest in the suicidal-for-a-purpose marine mammals piqued. So much in fact that “Daily Wire” reporter Mary Margaret Olohan asked Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine about reports of Iranian “kamikaze dolphins” during a May 5, 2026, Pentagon press briefing. Caine took the question as a joke. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth may or may not have taken the question as a joke when he injected, “I can’t confirm or deny whether we have Kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they [Iran] don’t.” When asked for clarification on the matter later, the U.S. Navy Office of Information declined to comment further.
As crazy as all of this sounds, there are Kamikaze dolphins out there. Sort of. Dolphins have been used by the military of several nations in the modern era. Seals, sea lions, and beluga whales have also been trained and utilized by the military.
U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program
Founded in 1959, the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) (part of the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Department within Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific) trains bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions to do a number of tasks. According to the NMMP’s website, “Both dolphins and sea lions have excellent low light vision and underwater directional hearing that allow them to detect and track undersea targets, even in dark or murky waters. Dolphins are trained to search for and mark the location of undersea mines that could threaten the safety of those on-board military or civilian ships.”
Scott Savitz, a senior engineer who previously worked with the now-decommissioned U.S. Navy mine warfare command, told CNN earlier this month, “We use marine mammals to help detect objects under water and to protect ports by detecting intruders. So, it’s not ‘The Day of the Dolphin.’”
NOTE: “The Day of the Dolphin” is a really crappy 1973 movie that sees George C. Scott teach dolphins to speak English only to watch them get kidnapped by some bad guys and taught to assassinate the President of the United States. No, I’m not making that up. It’s that crazy of a film. And one that goes great with a 12 pack and maybe some THC enhancement. “Dude, those dolphins can talk!”
Killer Commie Dolphins
Bottlenose dolphin operates in mine countermeasure training. (U.S. Navy photo)
A Navy Marine Mammal Program (NMMP) California sea lion waits for his handler to give the command to search the pier for potential threats during International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX). IMCMEX includes navies from 44 countries whose focus is to promote regional security through mine countermeasure operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kathleen Gorby/Released)
Russia began training dolphins and Beluga whales for military purposes during in the 1960s. The Soviet Navy established a marine mammal training program in Kazachya Bukhta near Sevastopol in the Black Sea. The animals—dolphins mainly—were used to protect against undersea sabotage, detect mines, and defend ships. According to the BBC, the dolphins were also trained to either capture enemy frogmen by dragging them to the surface or by killing them with a harpoon attached to their back.
NOTE #2: That is cool as shit. That should have been in “The Day of the Dolphin.”
The BBC claims that the dolphins were also trained to perform kamikaze strikes that saw them deliver mines to enemy ships that would explode on contact.
Some of these dolphins were sold to Iran in 2020 when the Russian program began running out of money. This history was written up by “The Wall Street Journal” in late April, which suggested the program might still be in place. Most analysits believe this is doubtful as the original dolphins are probably long since dead and there is no credible information that the program was continued. Regardless, the idea of Kamikaze dolphins is based on history and in reality. Let’s just hope they aren’t used in the Strait of Hormuz or anywhere else for that matter.
But using dolphins with harpoons on their backs … that’s something we should all hope to see.
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