Irans einfachste Waffe ist nun die Geiselnahme der Weltwirtschaft

[Sea](https://fortune.com/company/sea/) mines are “simple, uncool weapons,” Scott Savitz, a naval marine warfare expert at RAND who was stationed in Bahrain in 2001, told *Fortune*. They predate World War I and haven’t advanced much since; they look like the spiky metal balls you’d imagine from the movies, small enough to slip neatly into a fishing boat and packed with TNT and ammonium nitrate. 

But when they go off, they can snap ships straight in half, Savitz said. They have a “much greater effect, typically, than a missile,” and can inflict millions of dollars worth of damage for just a few thousand bucks a pop. And they’re pretty effective too: naval mines [have caused](https://www.strausscenter.org/strait-of-hormuz-mines/) 77% of all U.S. Navy ship casualties since 1950, per the Strauss Center at the University of Texas. 

As the 13th day of the Iran conflict draws to a close and with no end in sight, Iran is looking towards old tech to elevate its position in a war that has so far been dominated by hypersonic missiles. The sea mine isn’t flashy, but right now it could be Iran’s most dangerous weapon in the military conflict against the United States.

Read more: [https://fortune.com/2026/03/13/iran-war-sea-mines-strait-of-hormuz-crude-oil/](https://fortune.com/2026/03/13/iran-war-sea-mines-strait-of-hormuz-crude-oil/)

So say they manage to slow down shipping and bring the conflict to an end sooner, what does Iran get after that? A mined up export lane and a bunch of neighbors that hate their guts. There isn’t any upside to Iran here – it’s just thrashing for the old regime trying to stay alive.