Iran says it has deployed small submarines to act as an “invisible guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz amid a series of rejected peace deals between Tehran and the U.S., according to reports.

The deployment claim came as analysts said that although the Iranian Ghadir-class mini-subs could threaten U.S. naval forces, the vessels’ limited range, firepower and endurance would blunt any real strategic impact.

The submarine deployment was highlighted by Bloomberg and first reported by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, commander of Iran’s navy, said that his forces deployed its light submarine, referred to as the “dolphins of the Persian Gulf,” according to the Iranian state media outlet.

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It also comes as Tehran seeks to reinforce its control over the strait, now defining it as a far larger zone, Reuters reported.

“Time would be limited, probably a couple of days at the most,” defense analyst Tom Shugart told Fox News Digital about the Iranian vessel deployment.

The retired U.S. Navy submarine warfare officer also said the small diesel-electric submarines face fundamental operational constraints.

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“If they run their diesel engines to snorkel and recharge batteries, that could generate sound that could be detected,” Shugart said.

“Their snorkel mast projecting from the water could be detected by radars on patrol aircraft or helicopters,” Shugart added.

The submarines are said to be designed for shallow waters like the Strait of Hormuz and can operate quietly for limited periods on battery power.

“While they may be able to sit on the bottom for a while and operate somewhat quietly on their batteries for a while, they have no air-independent propulsion system (AIP) like more modern diesel-electric submarines,” Shugart said before adding that they’ll, “eventually have to come up and snorkel. This will make them more vulnerable to detection and destruction.”

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The IRGC Navy is said to be the sole operator of this class of submarine, all of which serve in the Southern Fleet.

“Any remaining Ghadirs, if they exist and are actually deployed, may be able to lay mines and may be able to threaten merchant ships,” Shugart warned.

“But I don’t see them as a serious threat to U.S. Navy warships — and certainly not to U.S. submarines,” he said.

“But I can say for sure that I wouldn’t want to go out on one in the current environment.”

HORMUZ CHOKE POINT PERSISTS AS IRAN HALTS OIL TRAFFIC DESPITE TRUMP CEASEFIRE

The U.S. Navy confirmed May 10 that a U.S. Navy Ohio-class nuclear-armed submarine had arrived in Gibraltar.

“The port visit demonstrates U.S. capability, flexibility and continuing commitment to its NATO allies,” U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs said in a statement.

“Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines are undetectable launch platforms for submarine-launched ballistic missiles, providing the U.S. with its most survivable leg of the nuclear triad,” it added.

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Meanwhile, Shugart’s remarks came as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, with commercial tanker traffic largely choked off amid ongoing military activity and the continued U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

The United Arab Emirates and South Korea reported new strikes on stranded vessels Wednesday, while the IRGC increased its fast-attack craft activity, according to reports.

President Donald Trump has maintained Iran’s navy is “completely obliterated.”

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

India is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from BRICS nations on May 14-15 in a precursor to the 18th BRICS summit, which New Delhi will host in September. The meeting, which starts on Thursday morning, coincides with United States President Donald Trump’s three-day visit to Beijing for a state visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Here is more about the foreign ministers’ meeting, who is attending and why it matters.

What is BRICS?

BRICS is a grouping of major emerging economies seeking to coordinate security and economic policy in order to amplify the demands of the Global South at international organisations and on issues where the West has traditionally dominated economically and politically.

The acronym stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The organisation was called BRIC in its initial form – Brazil, Russia, India and China – when its foreign ministers began meeting in 2006, and when it held its first summit in 2009. It became BRICS when South Africa joined in 2010.

In 2023, BRICS extended invitations to Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after these countries applied for membership. Saudi Arabia has yet to formally join, but the others have. An invitation was also extended to Argentina, but was turned down as President Javier Milei, elected in December 2023, had campaigned on the promise of bolstering ties with the West.

Indonesia joined the group in January 2025, after its membership was approved during the summit in 2023 in Johannesburg.

The group sets priorities and holds discussions at an annual summit, which members take turns hosting. Last year, Brazil hosted the BRICS meeting and, in 2024, Russia hosted the annual meeting. This year, it is India’s turn to host.

This week’s meeting in New Delhi will bring together the foreign ministers of BRICS countries, who are expected to discuss economic cooperation and coordinate their positions on key global issues.

When and where is the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting?

The BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, held to prepare for the 18th BRICS summit in September, will take place on Thursday, May 14, and Friday, May 15, in New Delhi, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

On Thursday, foreign ministers are expected to arrive at 10:00am (04:30 GMT), and sessions are expected to take place throughout the day, concluding with a dinner at 7pm (01:30 GMT).

On Friday, one session is expected to take place, starting at 10:00am (04:30 GMT).

All of the meetings except one will take place in Bharat Mandapam, an exhibition hall and convention centre located close to the Supreme Court of India.

On Thursday at 1pm (07:30 GMT), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join a joint conference call with the visiting leaders from Seva Teerth, a new administrative complex that serves as the official headquarters of the prime minister’s office.

Who is attending the meeting?

Foreign ministers from within and outside the BRICS group are expected to attend the meeting.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the meeting. South Africa’s Ronald Lamola and Brazil’s Mauro Vieira are also both attending.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will not attend due to Trump’s visit to Beijing. Instead, China will be represented by China’s Ambassador to India Xu Feihong, Indian media has reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has landed in New Delhi to participate. Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono also arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday.

It is not clear who will be representing the UAE at the BRICS meeting, even as the US-Israel war on Iran exacerbates tensions between the UAE and Iran.

What’s on the agenda?

The theme of this meeting is “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, according to India’s Foreign Ministry. This will focus on “people-centric and holistic healthcare, with an emphasis on collaboration on pressing health challenges, including communicable and non-communicable diseases”, it added.

However, the ongoing war on Iran is likely to dominate, and discussions will set the agenda for the annual BRICS summit in September, observers say.

“The Iran war is likely to cast a shadow over both the BRICS summit and the Trump-Xi meeting,” Rafael Loss, a policy fellow for defence, security and technology at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), told Al Jazeera.

The war on Iran entered its 76th day on Thursday, with diplomatic efforts to end the conflict hanging in the balance.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that, as well as taking part in the main BRICS sessions, Araghchi will hold separate meetings with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and other officials attending the meeting.

In April this year, India hosted a BRICS Deputy Foreign Ministers and Special Envoys for the Middle East and North Africa meeting in New Delhi. That gathering ended without a joint statement after Iran and the UAE clashed over how to address the US-Israeli war on Iran, with the UAE also seeing itself as a victim of Iranian aggression.

Since then, tensions between Iran and the UAE have only risen, with Tehran’s war messaging increasingly targeting the UAE.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza is also another point of stress within the bloc. At the April meeting, India – recently an Israeli ally – attempted to soften criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, leading to a failure within the bloc to arrive at a consensus on the subject.

“The meeting in India occurs at a difficult time in which the cohesion of the BRICS confronts challenges due to the closer relations of India with the US and Israel, and the conflict in West Asia between Iran and the UAE,” Michael Dunford, emeritus professor at the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex, UK, told Al Jazeera.

What about Trump’s meeting with Xi at the same time?

Trump landed in China on Wednesday evening and, after a ceremonial welcome, headed straight to his hotel. On Thursday, he will hold bilateral talks with the Chinese president, and will also join President Xi for a working lunch on Friday, before flying back to the US.

“A consequence of the coincidence of Trump’s visit to China with the BRICS foreign ministers’ summit in India is that Wang Yi will not attend, with China represented by its Indian ambassador Xu Feihong,” Dunford said.

ECFR’s Rafael Loss predicted that Trump is likely to try to convince Xi to put pressure on Iran to accommodate US demands to end the naval standoff in the Gulf and open the Strait of Hormuz.

In the past, he said, China avoided getting involved in protracted international conflict management efforts and instead attempted to “swoop in” to seal deals during the final stages, such as in the Iran-Saudi Arabia normalisation agreement of 2023, which has since collapsed.

“But if the price is right, and with Trump’s short-termism and disregard of traditional US allies, Xi could be persuaded to take a more vocal line vis-a-vis Iran,” Loss said. “Taiwan might end up bearing the brunt.”

How significant is this meeting?

This meeting of foreign ministers also comes amid an energy crisis triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israel war on Iran.

Since early March, Iran has restricted shipping through the strait, a narrow waterway linking Gulf oil producers to the open ocean and through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies were shipped before the war. Iran has allowed passage by vessels from select countries, but they are required to negotiate transit with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iranian attacks on US assets and oil and gas facilities in the Gulf in the early weeks of the war have also affected energy supplies.

In April, the US announced a naval blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, further adding to the disruption of global oil and gas supplies.

This has had a direct impact on several BRICS members. Both India and China rely heavily on Gulf oil shipped through the strait. Saudi Arabia and the UAE both ship oil through the strait. While Brazil, Egypt and South Africa are not as directly reliant on the oil that moves through the strait, they are impacted by rapidly rising fuel prices.

“It is unlikely that the BRICS summit will produce a consensus statement that goes beyond condemning attacks on nations’ sovereignty in general terms as BRICS has opted to do in the past, including on Russia’s war against Ukraine,” ECFR’s Loss said.

President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran is on “massive life support,” as retired U.S. commanders and national security experts are increasingly split whether Washington should resume military operations against Tehran or avoid what critics warn could become another prolonged Middle East conflict.

“I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support,” Trump told reporters Monday. “Where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.’”

Trump also dismissed Iran’s latest response to a proposed agreement as “a piece of garbage,” amid reports the White House is reviewing military options should negotiations collapse.

Retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, former national security adviser under Trump, said he believes Iran’s leadership is unlikely to make the concessions Trump considers necessary for a deal.

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“I think the Iranian leadership and IRGC are unwilling to make the kind of concessions that President Trump thinks are at the minimum,” McMaster told Fox News Digital, referring to Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

“President Trump always wants a deal,” he added. “But he’s not going to sign up for a bad deal.”

The emerging debate now centers on a core question facing Washington: whether additional military pressure could force Iran to abandon its nuclear and missile ambitions, or whether renewed strikes would deepen a regional conflict without producing decisive results.

Retired Vice Adm. Mark Fox, former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said he believes the current ceasefire and diplomatic track are unlikely to force Iran to back down.

“I really cannot envision anything other than a full return to combat operations,” Fox told Fox News Digital. “The only thing that they will respond to, I think ultimately, is force.”

Fox argued the U.S. military remains capable of reopening and securing commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz despite ongoing Iranian threats against vessels transiting the waterway.

HORMUZ CHOKE POINT PERSISTS AS IRAN HALTS OIL TRAFFIC DESPITE TRUMP CEASEFIRE

“This is a militarily obtainable objective,” he said, outlining a strategy involving guided missile destroyers, attack helicopters, drones and expanded aerial surveillance to create a protected maritime corridor through the Strait.

Fox acknowledged the U.S. Navy is smaller than it was during the 1980s tanker wars, but argued American forces still possess the capability to secure the chokepoint if Washington commits enough naval assets and persistent monitoring operations.

“It’s not easy,” Fox said. “But the geography is fixed.”

He described a possible strategy that would rely on destroyers, drones and attack aircraft to create what he called an “unblinking eye” over the strait, allowing U.S. forces to identify and neutralize Iranian speedboats, drones and anti-shipping threats before they can strike commercial vessels.

Fox also warned against allowing Iran to preserve leverage over Hormuz while continuing to advance its missile and nuclear programs.

“If not now, when?” he said. “If they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it.”

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Fox, who also signed onto a recent policy paper by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, echoed the report’s argument that Iran is using negotiations to buy time while preserving its military capabilities.

The paper was authored by several retired senior U.S. military officials and national security experts, including retired Gen. Chuck Wald, former deputy commander of U.S. European Command and retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, former deputy commander of CENTCOM, argued the current ceasefire and diplomatic track “cannot reliably compel Iran” to meet U.S. demands and warned Tehran was seeking to “drag out talks, erode U.S. resolve, and use the time to strengthen itself.”

The report called for expanded military operations targeting Iran’s maritime capabilities, missile infrastructure and internal coercive apparatus while avoiding broad attacks on civilian infrastructure that could trigger wider regional escalation.

But not everyone agrees that renewed military action would produce a better outcome.

Retired Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities and longtime critic of expanded U.S. military interventions, warned that calls to “finish the job” ignore the realities exposed during the recent fighting.

“To ‘finish the job,’ as they say, is irrational,” Davis told Fox News Digital. “It’s illogical, and it violates any kind of military principle.”

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Davis argued that despite thousands of strikes and weeks of fighting, Iran retained significant missile and maritime capabilities.

“We couldn’t knock them out with 14,000 targets hit,” he said. “Why does anybody think that going back another time is going to have a different result?”

He described Iran’s geography, dispersed missile infrastructure and asymmetric naval tactics as creating what he called “a militarily unsolvable problem.”

“The only thing left is a diplomatic outcome,” Davis said.

The disagreement reflects a broader divide emerging in Washington as officials weigh what comes next if negotiations fail.

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Supporters of renewed military action argue Iran is weaker than it has been in decades and that stopping now risks allowing Tehran to regroup, rebuild its missile arsenal and preserve leverage over one of the world’s most important energy choke points.

Critics counter that even extensive U.S. and Israeli strikes failed to fundamentally break the regime’s control or eliminate its military capabilities, raising the risk that further escalation could drag the United States into another drawn-out regional conflict with uncertain results.