Defense Weekly Says Iran Is Producing Sophisticated Mines

Iran is producing sophisticated acoustic and magnetic mines in addition to its old-fashioned moored contact version, the authoritative Jane’s Defense Weekly said Wednesday.

The magazine quoted an unidentified senior British Defense Ministry official as saying that such mines--known as “influence mines”--were found in the Persian Gulf recently.

The official said the mines were made in Iran but would give no further details.

“Shipping in the Persian Gulf faces a new threat. Growing evidence indicates that Iran now has influence mines available as well as vintage contact mines,” Jane’s said.

The contact mines used by Iran are Russian models built just after the turn of the century, but modified with modern high explosives, defense experts in London said. Moored on or just under the surface, these mines can be detected either with the naked eye or from a helicopter.

The new “influence mines,” the experts said, can be laid on the seabed and are much harder to detect and remove.