Pete Hegseth, the US Defence Secretary, added: “I can’t confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins. But I can confirm they don’t.”
Iranian state media has called the claims “stupid”.
But in 2000, a group of dolphins with previous military training were allegedly sold to Tehran, the BBC reported at the time.
Before the pod performed for tourists in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, it had allegedly been part of a Soviet training programme where it was taught to attack warships and enemy frogmen.
The dolphins could reportedly also carry mines that would detonate when they collided with enemy ships.
Boris Zhurid, the chief trainer, told the BBC he had decided to sell the dolphins after running low on money.
“I cannot bear to see my animals starve,” he said. “We’re out of medicine, which costs thousands of dollars, and have no more fish or food supplements.”
He also said the country had built a specially designed oceanarium, and he would be continuing his research in Iran.
“I am prepared to go to Allah, or even to the devil, as long as my animals will be okay there,” he added.
Yesterday, the US ordered the Navy to escort stranded tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as part of “Project Freedom”.
Iran fired at a US ship and launched missiles at the United Arab Emirates, threatening the fragile ceasefire in the region.
The narrow strait has been virtually shut since the US and Israel began to attack Iran on February 28. Iran has threatened to deploy mines, drones, missiles and fast attack craft to counter a naval blockade.
While the deployment of dolphins may seem far-fetched, there have been credible reports in the past of military forces exploring the use of animals as weapons during wartime.
The US conducted research during World War II to see whether bats could be used to carry bombs, on the orders of President Franklin D Roosevelt.
Six thousand bats were used in these experiments, and the Navy even went on to lease four caves in Texas and assigned marines to guard them, according to a 1990 report by Air & Space Forces magazine. The bats were never used in battle.
More recently, there were multiple reports of the Taliban strapping improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to donkeys during the war in Afghanistan.
Major Richard Streatfeild, of the 3rd Battalion the Rifles Regiment, described one incident in 2009 at a military camp in Helmand province, when a guard shot and killed a “suspicious” donkey, the Telegraph reported at the time.
“Fortunately, the gate guard noticed something suspicious when a group of men let the donkey go a short way from the camp and then hurried off,” he said.
“He tried to divert the animal, but it eventually had to be stopped with a rifle shot. A team went out and realised there was something suspicious under the hay. One brave soldier set fire to the hay with a flare, and there was a considerable explosion.”
Streatfeild said his men had been alerted to the threat by Afghan Army colleagues who had heard rumours about the “Drop the Dead Donkey” tactic.
He added: “It is impossible to report a donkey IED up the chain of command without either a wry smile at the ridiculousness or a feeling that the world is slightly off its axis”.
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