Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, denied a report that Iran has "kamikaze dolphins," but did not rule out the US military having them. The U.S. Navy has a Marine Mammal Program, which trains bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions to detect, locate, mark and recover objects in harbors, coastal areas, and at depth in the open sea. However, a source close to the Navy denied that the Navy is using dolphins to clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines laid by Iranian forces.