Iran Shifting Tactics to Deploy Sea Mines via Land-Based Rocket Launchers

The reported use of land-based rocket launchers would represent a significant change in Iran's approach.

Iran appears to be shifting how it threatens shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, turning to a faster and potentially harder-to-detect method of deploying sea mines as the conflict with the US and Israel escalates. The US military on Sunday struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait, saying Iranian forces were preparing to use them to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the vital waterway. The strikes marked a resumption of US attacks after a month-long pause. According to a report by France24, the claim surprised some maritime security experts because Iran has traditionally used small, fast boats to carry and scatter mines across the strait. Mines can also be deployed using small submarines or aircraft flying at low altitude.

Sea mines can sit on the seabed, remain moored underwater or float just below the surface, where they can detect passing vessels and explode on contact. Their uncertain location makes navigation through a mined waterway particularly dangerous. The reported use of land-based rocket launchers would represent a significant change in Iran's approach.

From boats to rocket launchers Maritime security specialist Dirk Siebels of Risk Intelligence told France24 that using land-based rocket launchers to fire sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz would, as far as he knows, be a novel method. Former US naval officer Harlan Ullman similarly said the method appeared unlikely, arguing that mines could be damaged when they hit the water. However, the idea is not entirely new. Iranian state television reported in January 2025 on the Fajr-5 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), describing it as a weapon capable of laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Sidharth Kaushal of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) told France24 that Iran had been testing Fajr-5 launchers for this purpose for some time. Experts say using missiles to deploy mines could offer Iran a major tactical advantage. Rather than sending a boat loaded with explosives into the strait, requiring a crew to travel to a specific location and scatter the mines, a launcher could potentially fire the weapons from land in a much shorter time. “Using a rocket launcher, all you have to do is load and fire,” Kaushal said. Mark Hilborne of King's College London explained that missiles could carry the mines over the target area, with devices such as small parachutes potentially reducing the impact when they enter the water.