US strikes Larak Island: Could Iran use rockets to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz?

The US broke a month-long lull in its military campaign against Iran by striking military targets on Larak Island on Sunday (August 30). Washington said the attack aimed to stop Tehran from using rockets to scatter mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the airstrike hit Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the strait, described as a "limited, precise" action against mining forces. CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins said US forces blockading Iranian ports around Hormuz observed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) preparing to launch mine-carrying rockets.

Iran condemned the attack as "an act of aggression," and the IRGC subsequently carried out retaliatory strikes on two US military bases in Jordan. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported at least two people killed and two wounded in the US airstrike.

Feasibility of rocket-deployed mines

Harlan Ullman, a former senior US naval officer, told Al Jazeera that Washington's claim about Iran using rockets to lay mines is "hard to believe." He suggested the US may have intelligence indicating Iran is ready to use ship-borne launchers to deploy new mines, but wants to downplay the actual threat.

"I think when a rocket hits the water, the impact force would seriously damage the mine," Ullman said. "Iran has many options to lay mines. I'd like to ask CENTCOM why they believe Iran would use rockets—that seems very novel to me."

However, Iran itself has promoted the ability to use rockets for mining. In January 2025, Iranian state TV showed the IRGC using Fajr-5 multiple rocket launchers to scatter mines during a naval exercise. Fajr-5 is a medium-range system primarily used to launch warhead-bearing rockets, mounted on trucks that can traverse rough terrain.

Conventional mine-laying methods

Typically, sea mines are deployed from dedicated warships, submarines, or aircraft. They can be dropped to the seabed or anchored at moderate depths, waiting to detect magnetic or vibration signatures from passing vessels before detonating. Others are set adrift below the surface, exploding on contact with ships.

Iran is believed to have relied on small, fast attack craft to drop an unknown number of explosives into Hormuz waters before quickly withdrawing. Many such vessels have been targeted by US forces.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said CENTCOM had completed mine clearance in the Strait of Hormuz, while warning it would destroy any Iranian ship laying new mines. Experts say clearing Hormuz of mines requires a slow, meticulous campaign to locate and safely detonate each mine one by one.

Iran's Fajr-5 rocket system

Iran has long been known for low-cost, high-impact tactics or asymmetric warfare. In January 2025, according to Iranian news reports, the IRGC unveiled a new mining tactic during a naval exercise by using shore-based Fajr-5 MLRS to scatter mines into the sea. Analysts at the time called it "innovative" but also "worrying" because the IRGC could scatter thousands of mines over a vast area with a single salvo.

Developed in the 1990s, the Fajr-5 is a 333mm medium-range rocket system typically used for artillery rockets. It can fire up to four rockets from a mobile multi-barrel truck. Each rocket carries a 175kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead, has a range of about 75km, and is primarily used by ground forces to target airfields and military bases.

A 75km range also means that if deployed for mining, the Fajr-5 could cover the entire Strait of Hormuz. Newer variants such as Fajr-5c are equipped with precision guidance systems and can launch rockets up to 130km.

How Fajr-5 could be used to lay mines

Iran has not confirmed that the Fajr-5 or any other rocket system is currently used to deploy mines. Theoretically, rocket warheads could be packed with mines instead of explosives, as demonstrated in the IRGC's naval exercise in January 2025.

After launching from shore-based trucks, mine-carrying rockets would fly to target coordinates and open their casings mid-air. The mines would then fall into the ocean, with small parachutes or deceleration materials to soften impact and avoid detonation upon water entry. Once in the sea, the mines would sink to the bottom or drift below the surface.

A rocket salvo could theoretically carry dozens or even hundreds of mines, scattering them across the narrow Strait of Hormuz. This tactic could overwhelm mine-clearing efforts while keeping Iran's fast boats away from CENTCOM attacks.

Aerial mining capability

According to the US Navy, it has used aircraft and launchers to deploy Quickstrike mines into the sea. These shallow-water mines are made from 907kg bombs fitted with mine components, fins, and tails, allowing US Navy and Air Force fighters to drop them accurately from long range. Modern variants use JDAM-guided munitions to drop mines more precisely from higher altitudes.

So far, the US has only tested this tactic. In April, the US Navy said it tested a new guided munition, the GBU-75, which can strike naval targets or lay mines from aircraft hundreds of kilometers away.

Experts suggest the US needs to accelerate development of new ways to lay mines at sea, including from land. In an article for the US Naval Institute last year, US Navy Commander Adam Pace wrote: "Finding a solution to support mine warfare while ensuring survivability, quantity, and deployment speed remains imperative. Land-based mine-laying using existing systems like the Marine Corps' coastal regiments and the Army's multi-domain task forces would expand ground units' ability to influence the maritime environment."