WASHINGTON — A top Iranian navy commander claimed the Islamic Republic has deployed some of its small submarines, known as the “dolphins of the Persian Gulf,” in the Strait of Hormuz to wreak further havoc on the critical oil chokepoint, according to state media . The goal is to establish an “invisible guardian” in the beleaguered waterway and lurk on the seabed there and potentially attack vessels attempting to pass. Iran is known to possess at least 16 Ghadir-class midget submarines in its fleet, which are designed to operate in shallow waters, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Those small submarines are believed to have a crew of fewer than 10 and can carry two missiles or two torpedoes. One key drawback is that they are very noisy, which makes them easier for adversarial navies to track, Bloomberg News reported . The subs are a copy of a similar design from North Korea and are known to have maintenance issues, according to the report.…