U.S. depends on dolphins to keep Strait of Hormuz open

  Much Middle Eastern oil travels to world markets through the Straits of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to close the straits in retaliation for sanctions imposed upon the regime.
  Iran could very well mine the straits as a means of stopping traffic. However, the U.S. Navy has trained dolphins to detect mines.
  The dolphins themselves would not explode the mines but would leave transponders in the area of the mines which having been marked could be destroyed. In an interview with National Public Radio retired Admiral Tim Keating spoke in an interview about the use of the dolphins for military purposes.
  The Navy is not too keen about advertising the use of the animals. However, newspaper reports claim that there are 80 bottleneck dolphins being trained in San Diego Bay alone.
  Dolphins are large enough to set off a mine. One wonders how many dolphins might be destroyed in training. One wonders too if the dolphins need to be transported from San Diego to the Straits of Hormuz. Perhaps they have secret training locations  in Bahrain or other allied countries in the area.
  Many animal rights activists will no doubt object to the military use of the animals. An enemy might very well decide to indiscriminately kill dolphins in an area where they plant mines in order to frustrate plans to use them as minesweepers. For more see this article.