Iran Is Using Tiny 'Mosquito' Boats to Shut Down the Strait of Hormuz

"In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has developed an asymmetrical naval strategy that is crippling the passage of container ships. This "hemostat" uses guerrilla tactics, after Iran's "traditional" fleet was almost entirely destroyed by US and Israeli attacks. No longer able to rely on specialized military ships, Tehran is using an unconventional force made up of dozens of small military vessels armed with missiles, machine guns, and drones."

"Quick and nimble, this "mosquito fleet" is capable of assaulting ships carrying tons of cargo. In mid-April, US president Donald Trump had reassured the public in a post on Truth Social that Iran's hemostat fleet did not pose a major problem for the US and Israel. "The Iranian Navy lies at the bottom of the sea, completely annihilated: 158 ships," Trump wrote."

"Less than 10 days later, on April 22, an Iranian attack conducted with the small vessels led to the seizure of two large container ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, changing the course of the war. "Iranian fleets of small boats were created during the Iran-Iraq war, with the purpose of disrupting oil tankers in the Persian Gulf that supported the Iraqi war effort," says Michael Eisenstadt, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy where he is director of the Military and Security Studies Program."

""The effectiveness of Iran's fleet of small boats comes from their numbers and their use in swarms, which makes them difficult to counter," Eisenstadt adds. "Iran has over a thousand of these small boats armed with rockets, machine guns, anti-ship missiles, and mines." In this way, Tehran can pose a serious"

Iran employs an asymmetrical naval strategy in the Strait of Hormuz that targets container ship passage. After earlier reliance on a traditional fleet was severely damaged by US and Israeli attacks, Iran shifted to an unconventional “hemostat” force of dozens of small, quick vessels equipped with missiles, machine guns, and drones. These “mosquito fleet” boats can assault heavily laden cargo ships. The strategy draws on earlier Iranian small-boat operations from the Iran-Iraq war, when boats disrupted oil tankers supporting Iraq. Effectiveness comes from large numbers and coordinated swarming, making interception difficult. Iran reportedly has over a thousand such small boats armed with rockets, machine guns, anti-ship missiles, and mines.

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