There are many competing visions of how technology and military strategy should be combined in the Gulf’s waters, some of which cross into the bizarre. In the UAE, authorities are testing autonomous patrol boats to monitor waterways and enforce maritime rules in what is a normal use case. At the other end of the scale, Iran — whose yet-to-be-seen supreme leader has vowed to sink the ships of “foreigners who commit evil” — is reportedly planning to strap mines onto dolphins, in a program that dates back to the Cold War but which does not appear to have ever been put into action.

The contrast is stark, but there’s a common thread: Asymmetric warfare is now as much a part of the Gulf’s security arena as traditional military tools. Iran has also threatened to cut subsea communications cables, The Wall Street Journal reports — though it’s unclear whether Tehran has a crab brigade that’s up to the task.