President Donald Trump recently stated that he had “completely destroyed” the Iranian navy, reducing the fleet to “small boats equipped with a machine gun.” However, these “small boats” – which some Western analysts nickname the “mosquito fleet” – pack a punch.
For months, they have been helping the Tehran regime sow chaos in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime routes, in what experts describe as an attempt to harm the global economy and put pressure on Washington to end its war against Tehran.
But what is this mosquito fleet, and how has it proven so effective?
The rapid attack small boat fleet was created by the Iranian regime in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war. Although Iran was at war with Iraq, the fighting spread to the Persian Gulf during the “tanker war” of the 1980s, which saw the United States get involved in protecting oil transport.
Engagements with the US Navy led to significant losses for the conventional Iranian naval fleet. The Iranian small boat fleet then adopted a war doctrine designed to combat superior naval powers.
Lead by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), this fleet was not designed for traditional naval combat, but to “disrupt and interrupt navigation,” explains Saeid Golkar, a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an advisor to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).
“The IRGC knows it cannot defeat the United States in conventional naval warfare,” he adds.
The general objective is to pressure Washington to abandon its war against Tehran and deter any new attacks. As many of these boats are submerged, they are difficult to detect by radar until they are very close, and effective monitoring requires constant vigilance using drones, helicopters, or patrol aircraft.
The exact size of the fleet is unknown, in part because many boats are concealed in caves, coves, and tunnels along Iran’s southern coast. However, estimates range from 500 to over a thousand boats.
The regime regularly organizes naval exercises involving the mosquito fleet.
Analysts generally describe Iran’s approach as maritime guerrilla warfare. Although the US Navy can destroy Iranian fast boats when exposed in open waters, the IRGC avoids open confrontations, opting for hit-and-run tactics with swarms, mines, drones, missiles, and small boats to increase the cost of American and commercial operations.
Instead of destroying ships, the mere perception of a serious threat can increase insurance costs and prompt companies to avoid that route, experts note.
The threat of marine mines can slow or disrupt traffic. Clearing a waterway of mines is a slow process.
The Maritime Operations Center of the UK (UKMTO) recently reported a ship carrying bulk cargo was “hit by an unidentified projectile” approximately 43 km northeast of Doha, Qatar, sparking a small fire but causing no casualties. Iranian news agency Fars later stated the vessel flew the American flag and belonged to Americans.
The International Maritime Organization estimates around 1,500 ships and 20,000 crew members are still impacted by the blockade.
The decrease in oil passing through the strait has contributed to what some analysts describe as the biggest oil supply shock in history, with prices nearing record levels.
