They looked like canned food, Iranian villagers said. Small cylindrical objects scattered across the streets and fields of Kafari, a village on the southern outskirts of Shiraz. Within hours, Bellingcat had identified them: BLU-91/B scatterable anti-tank landmines, part of the U.S.-developed Gator system. Dropped from the air, just two kilometres from the entrance to Shiraz South Missile Base.

The images, first published by Iran’s Tasnim news agency and later circulated by Canadian activist Dimitri Lascaris, set off a global debate. Was the United States now seeding Iranian cities with landmines to stop missile launches? And if so — is it working?

A Mine That Thinks for Itself

The BLU-91/B is not a crude device. It’s a “smart” anti-tank mine — air-delivered by aircraft at altitude, stabilised during descent by a small parachute, and capable of self-destructing after a preset timer: 4 hours, 48 hours, or 15 days. The idea is to create temporary denial zones rather than permanent minefields, allowing U.S. forces to turn an area into a death trap for vehicles and then clear it on their own schedule.

In this case, the target appears to have been Shiraz South Missile Base — one of Iran’s underground facilities used to store and launch ballistic missiles. Surrounding the access roads with anti-tank mines would make it extremely difficult to move mobile launchers in or out, even without a direct strike on the hardened bunkers below.

Dr. N.R. Jenzen-Jones of Armament Research Services confirmed the identification, noting the presence of distinctive square “aeroballistic adaptors” visible in the photos — components that stabilise the mines during air delivery. Bellingcat was direct: “The US is the only participant in the war known to possess these mines.”

Mines in a Village

The problem is that Kafari is a residential village. At least two people were reportedly killed. The mines did not land only near the missile base’s entrance road — they scattered into streets and fields where civilians live. This is the inherent risk of scatterable munitions: they do not distinguish between a military convoy and a farmer on a tractor.

U.S. Central Command declined to confirm or deny whether Gator mines are being used during Operation Epic Fury. The silence speaks for itself.

A New Kind of Air War

What makes this tactic remarkable is its unconventional logic. The standard playbook against missile launchers is to bomb them — strike the vehicle, the facility, or the launch crew. But hardened underground bases are extremely difficult to destroy even with penetrating munitions. Mines accomplish something different: they don’t destroy the missiles, they deny the roads. A launcher that can’t move can’t hide. And a launcher that can’t hide is a lot easier to kill from the air.

It is a reminder that air power is not only about bombs falling from altitude. Sometimes, the most effective weapon is a small cylinder quietly settling into the dust of an Iranian street — patient, waiting, and lethal.

Sources: The War Zone; Bellingcat; Armament Research Services; Tasnim News Agency