00:00Mine layers, they put mines in the water. Lovely job, isn't that nice? Blow-up ships.
00:05And we knocked out 31 of them.
00:08Donald Trump boasts about targeting Iranian mine-laying vessels
00:12as the Islamic Republic attempts to choke the global economy.
00:16Mining of the Strait of Hormuz would add further pressure on energy markets.
00:21According to military analysts, mines at sea are the weapon of the poor,
00:25but they pose a fundamental threat.
00:27Iran is estimated to have between 5,000 to 6,000 naval mines,
00:32including drifting mines, which are difficult to intercept.
00:35Contact mines can be attached to the seafloor or drift with the current.
00:40Large ships can be targeted in shallow waters with influence mines.
00:45And finally, speedboats could be used to plant limpet mines to the hulls of ships.
00:50Experts say the tactic would be unsurprising for Iran.
00:53The country's never really had a strong blue-water, ocean-going, NAGLE capability.
01:01What it's done is concentrated on local defensive mechanisms
01:06and what we call anti-access and area denial techniques.
01:13So that would be things to, well, basically to close the Strait of Hormuz,
01:18to make it difficult for shipping to pass.
01:22While Western states do possess demining capabilities,
01:26the process is likely to be long and arduous.
01:29After Iraqi forces deployed sea mines during the Gulf War in the 90s,
01:34it took coalition forces over two years to declare the northern Gulf mine-free.
01:39We'll be right back to the Gulf War in the 90s.
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