0
Why mine warfare is psychological, not just physical | DW News
April 24, 2026
Posted 6 hours ago by
US President Donald Trump has ordered his military to "shoot and kill" small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is accused of laying new sea mines in this vital global shipping route — but how dangerous are these weapons really? And how much does the threat of mines matter, even before any are confirmed? Former US Navy officer and mine warfare analyst Steven Wills explains what we know, what we don't, and why mine warfare is as much psychological as it is physical.
00:05 Fresh Iranian sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz? 00:45 US President Donald Trump orders to "shoot and kill" Iranian mine-laying boats 01:35 Former US Navy officer and mine warfare analyst Steven Wills 02:05 How do we know Iran has placed any mines in the key Gulf shipping route at all? 02:33 Types of mines and how they are triggered 04:17 The mine type that famously damaged the USS Princeton in Gulf War I 05:31 Can the US military really hamstring Tehran's mine laying operations? 07:03 A six months closure of the strait in the cards? 08:04 The difference between mine sweeping and mine hunting 09:11 NATO's mine warfare groups and WWII ordnance clearance 10:50 Trump downplaying the mine threat? 11:24 Psychology the "wicked problem" behind mine warfare 12:40 Mine counter measure technology 15:15 Iran's "mosquito fleet" and other maritime tactic of the IRGC #dwnews #straitofhormuz #mines For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/ Follow DW on social media: ►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews ►TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dwnews ►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/ ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1
DW News
Coverage and analysis from Germany. All insights are generated by our AI narrative analysis engine.